


Everything's Fine, Right?

by AmableAngel



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Anxiety, Depression, F/M, Ooooooh, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Tags Are Hard, Weddings!!!, duhhh - Freeform, gwen is happy very happy, gwen is my fave i love her smmm, gwenvid being amazing parents duuhh, gwenvid getting married wooohhoooo!!!, max being sad, mostly gwen-centric, my babyy no dont cry :((, our favorite cultist, plus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-12 14:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12961449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmableAngel/pseuds/AmableAngel
Summary: Gwen's life sucks. But then she meets a happy camp counselor. What happens next, hm?(I suck at descriptions sorry uhh please read my story please ily)





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> hello, and welcome!! first order of business: my summary sucks, so just bear with me. so does my title, but eh. 
> 
> updates will be every two to three days, hopefully. if i forget to update, i'm so sorry :))
> 
> uhhh that should be it methinks 
> 
> *insert usual disclaimer stuff*
> 
> credit for names 'Santos' and 'Greenwood' go to Forestwater! I don't think anyone's used Greene for David's last name, so credit for that goes to me.

“Max! I’ve talked and talked to you, but you still won’t tell me. What’s wrong?”

“Fuck off, David.”

“Why won’t you tell us, Max? You can trust us, you know that.”

“Gwen, could you tell David to go fuck himself? Thanks.”

“David, let’s go.”

“No, Gwen. I’m staying with Max so I can help him.”

“David, please. Give him some time. Please.” 

\---

_ Gwen sighed and swished the coffee around in her mug. Gulping down the remnants of her weak, milky drink, she glanced at the clock and stomped towards the door, grabbing her bag and leaving. Taking the stairs two at a time, she jumped out of the apartment building and ran towards the bus stop, waving at the driver to stop.  _

_ It didn’t work. The bus pulled away as soon as Gwen reached the bus stop, panting and leaning over while trying to catch her breath. She waved a fist while cursing at the bus, driving farther and farther away from her. Gwen slumped down on the curb dejectedly, looking up at the bland gray sky as fat raindrops began to patter down from the heavens and splashed down on her face, soaking her hair and clothes.  _

_ Why was everything going wrong? It was as if the whole universe was piling all the bullshit in the world onto her back. Tears began to well in Gwen’s eyes and she quickly wiped them away. She would not cry.  _

_ Something was wrong. The cold bite of the raindrops was absent.  _

_ “Gosh darn it!! I missed the bus too!” Gwen slowly turned to the voice next to her. She narrowed her eyes skeptically at the red haired, sparkly eyed man standing next to her with a huge smile on his face. He was holding a bright yellow umbrella over the two of them, shielding them from the rain. He stuck out his hand in greeting.  _

_ “I'm David Greene!” _

_ “ … Gwen Santos.” _

_ “Where were you going?” _

_ “ … The university.” _

_ “Oh! I was going too!! I’m new this year. Let’s walk together.” _

_ After that, everything kind of fell into place.  _

\---

“Max, I’m not angry about the bad grade.”

“You fucking sure? Because you seemed pretty mad.”

“Language, Max. Please.”

“Gwen, please tell David to fuck himself.”

“Max, please. I’m with David on this. The only reason we can help you is if you tell us. The, er, flinching--”

“Fuck off, Gwen. You too, David.”

“Max, don’t talk to us like that. David and I only want the best for you.”

\---

_ After that, everything kind of fell into place. Gwen walked with David to university every morning, and slowly, there was a ray of sunshine breaking through the stormclouds of Gwen’s life. She found herself not detesting getting up and going to school in the morning. No longer did she feel  _ _ as _ _ bogged down with all of life’s problems. She still relied on her pills and often broke down under the weight of it all. She would sit on the edge of her bed, crying and weeping.  _ Waste of space. Needs pills to survive. Can’t do anything. Has no worth. David doesn’t think of you as a friend. He hates you.  _ Over and over again, her brain was consumed with thoughts.  _

_ Never before had Gwen really had a friend. All of her childhood classmates had gone off and left her after high school ended, to go off to an  _ _ actual _ _ college. Gwen was stuck going to community college. And on top of that, she chose to major in liberal arts! And psych. Two useless degrees.  _

_ David said he was also going to community college since their family didn’t have enough money to go to the state university. He was majoring in outdoor education and was planning to go to the state university after graduating. Gwen had nodded along when he said that, thinking to herself  _ That makes one of us. I have no fucking idea what I’m doing after graduation. 

_ Everything he did had a positive spin. Anytime it rained and Gwen cursed at the sky, David would grin widely and go outside to jump in puddles. He would kindly, not bitterly, ask the baker to give him the other type of bread if the one he wanted wasn’t there. If kids threw mud at his shoes, he’d smile back at them. Everything was happy for him. And often times, it irked Gwen. Did he not understand how shitty the world is? The rain made the ground smell weird. The baker was a racist asshole. Kids were annoying as hell.  _

_ She asked him this one time, while they were sitting in the park.  _

_ “How the fuck are you so positive all the time? It’s like you don’t see all the horrible things going on in the world.” _

_ “Well, Gwen. If everyone gave up and decided to only see the bad in the world, and then be mad and bitter over it, it’s be an even more horrible place. So I try to see the good.”  _

_ She had rolled her eyes at the statement, leaning back into the bench and scoffing. Later on, she would realize that David was speaking the truth.  _

\---

“Max, please come back here. Max, don’t you dare walk out that door. Max!” 

“Fuck. What do we do?!” 

“I’ll tell you what we’re doing. We’re going after him. Don’t just stand there!!”

“Okay, okay.”

\---

_ There was one time where Gwen absolutely broke down. Her sister had died in childbirth, and if that wasn’t bad enough, she had absolutely no money to buy a plane ticket to go to her funeral. Absolutely none. There wasn’t even enough to fix the broken doorknob in the bathroom, much less enough money to buy a plane ticket to the other side of the United States.  _

_ She did not leave her house that day and she did not leave her room. Not when her landline rung to ask her why she wasn’t at work, not when a package arrived that she needed to sign off on, not even when she heard a persistent knocking at the door.  _

_ “Gwen, please open up.” A pause. “Gwen, please.”  _

_ “Fuck off, David.”  _

_ “Please.” _

_ “Absolutely not. Go. Leave me be.” _

_ “Gwen, I’m sitting outside the door until you open up.” _

_ “David, it’s twenty-three degrees outside.” _

_ “Exactly.” _

_ “Just go away. Please. I’m begging you.” She didn’t hear any sounds of David leaving.  _ Good. Let him freeze.  _ Time passed, and she began to worry. Begrudgingly, she lifted herself off the bed and walked towards the front door. Opening it up, she kicked David’s back.  _

_ “David.” No response, save for a few snores. “David. Get up, asshole.” Sighing, she dragged him into the living room and dumped him onto the couch. Grabbing a blanket, she draped it over him. Plopping down and drawing her own blanket over her shoulders, Gwen set her jaw and stared at the ratty carpet.  _

_ An hour seemed to have passed before David woke up again with a jolt.  _

_ “Gwen!”  _

_ She didn’t hear him and could only hear the roaring of her grandfather in her ears.  _

“You like boys  _ and  _ girls?! Get the fuck out of my house!” 

_ She didn’t even realize she was digging her nails into her leg until she felt a wet warmth on her fingers. Gwen’s vision was tunnelling and she couldn’t feel anything anymore. Tears were streaked across her face. Her chest was heaving with gasps and sobs.  _

_ “Gwen, take a deep breath. Please.” David’s calm voice broke through the rage of her mind and she lifted her hand to wipe away the marks on her face. Some of the blood from her leg was smeared across her nose and Gwen grimaced. David rubbed her back slowly, until her sobs were reduced to hiccups. He passed her a tissue and she honked her nose as loud as a tuba. Grabbing another tissue, David gently wiped off the blood on Gwen’s leg. The bleeding was staunched and Gwen’s breathing was steady once again.  _

_ “You good?” Gwen shook her head and drew in another shaky breath.  _

_ “No.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that was chapter one!! please tell me what you thought!


	2. Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Gwen talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, and welcome back!! 
> 
> please enjoy this next chapter! <33

“Where in fuck’s name did this shit go.”

“Gwen, language.”

“Does it look I like a give a shit? Max is lost!”

“Calm down. Let’s go ask Nikki and Neil. They’re probably out here somewhere, given their parents.”

\---

_ She let it all out. With all its ferocity and violence. All the ugly things about her past.  _ _ Everything.  _

_ Her aunt making her feel like crap, her grandfather rejecting her for her sexuality, her friends making fun of her for the pills she took. Every single little thing that made her become the bitter, depressed, emotionally unavailable person she was today.  _

_ And he listened to her. And didn’t run away, like all of her other friends. He stayed and listened to her. _

\---

“Did you see Max anywhere?”   
“I saw him go that way, towards the woods.”

“Thanks, Nikki. Wait, why are you sitting outside? And so far away?”

“They’re… er… y’know.”

“Oh. I see.”

\---

_ Then it was Gwen’s turn to listen. That girl Bonquisha had taken David’s heart and trampled all over it. He was an absolute wreck for weeks. Everytime he saw a picture of him and Bonquisha together, he’d collapse into tears.  _

_ Gwen would then hand him tissues, and rub his back comfortingly. She’d listen through everything he would spill out, all the good times in their relationship and the hard ones. Gwen would nod along, smiling reassuringly at David as he sobbed.  _

_ But when David weeped when he saw a picture of him and his ex-girlfriend, Gwen felt a jolt of victory and then a stab of guilt when she glanced at said pictures and saw David break down. She knew she shouldn’t, yet she did.  _

\---

“Neil!! Wait, why are you outside? You literally haven’t seen the light of day in three weeks.”

“I’m sure Nikki told you. The last I heard, they were fucking and I just lost it. And now, here I am, playing with a stick in the pond.”

“M’kay. You seen Max?”

“No.”

“Fuck.”

\---

_ Time passed.  _

_ Gwen’s heart would beat faster around David and she wanted to punch herself. But when she locked glances with those emerald green eyes, her face turned red. She wanted nothing more than to run her hands through his hair and kiss him on the forehead when he was sad and to hug him and hold him close and keep him forever.  _

_ The only friend she ever had, and if she told him about her feelings, she was going to lose it to a silly crush.  _

_ To make is worse, Bonquisha had gotten back together with David. She had watched as he gushed about how happy he was and how he didn’t deserve someone like Bonquisha. Gwen had watched and listened and smiled, all the while her stomach twisting in sorrow.  _

_ Besides, David didn’t deserve someone like her. He deserved someone who didn’t complain about her trivial problems 24/7, someone who didn’t need to take a cocktail of pills just to keep her brain afloat, someone  _ _ better _ _.  _

_ Gwen drowned her sorrows in coffee, day after day, becoming more withdrawn. David reached out to her, but unlike before when she accepted his hand, she pushed him away.  _

_ “Gwen, we need to talk.” _

_ “What.” _

_ “Where are you?” _

_ “I’m sitting in front of you, David.” _

_ “Gwen, please. I care about you and it hurts me to see you this way. What’s bothering you?” _

_ “Oh, like you ever gave a fuck about me!” Gwen’s words were pinched together as she shakily pointed an accusatory finger at David. The effects of the coffee were getting to her and her heartbeat was speeding up.  _

_ “Gwen, you’re not in your right mind right now.” _

_ “No shit, Sherlock.” _

_ “Sleep now, we'll talk later.” _

_ “Nope. You said you wanted to talk. So talk.” _

_ “Gwen, I’m worried about you. Please tell me what’s wrong.” David’s phone began to buzz. He picked it up, seeing the name “Bonquisha” flash across the screen. Hitting the decline button, David tucked the phone back into his pocket.  _

_ Gwen took a deep breath, trying to slow down her rapid heartbeat. The coffee had been making her heartbeat abnormal, but she had paid it no mind. That would’ve been okay, except now she felt lightheaded and nauseous. She looked up into David’s eyes.  _ Fuck it. 

_ “The truth?” _ _   
_ _ “Yes.” _

You asked.  _ “Te amo. Y eres muy bonito.” With those words, Gwen’s world turned black as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed on the ground.  _

\---

“Max!!” 

“Congratulations, you found me.”

“Why’d you do that?!”

“Because I didn’t want to fucking tell you. If I got away from you, then I don’t have to tell you, right?” 

“Yes, but why can’t you tell us? David and I want to help you.”

“YOU GUYS DON’T FUCKING UNDERSTAND. DID  YOUR PARENTS EVER HIT YOU?”

“Your parents… hit you?”

“Fuck.”

“Max, come back!!”

\---

_ “Fucking hell.” Gwen sat up, rubbing at her head. Looking up at the walls of the room she was in, she jolted. They were white. A hospital room.  _

_ “You’re awake!!” David suddenly popped into her field of vision.  _

_ “Jesus Christ!” Gwen yelled, clutching her chest and jolting again. She looked down at her hand, placed right above her heart. Something was weird. The irregularly fast-paced heartbeat was gone, to be replaced with the normal, evenly-spaced out thumping. “Fucking-- Why am I here?!” she yelled, turning towards David.  _

_ He beamed. “Doctor said it was a caffeine overdose!” _

_ “That’s not a good thing, idiot.”  _

_ “Yeah, but you’re fine!!”  _

_ Gwen frowned and pulled the blanket off her legs, swinging herself out of her bed. She was walking towards the door, when David pulled her back to the hospital bed. “One, the doctor has to check on you. Two, you’re only wearing a hospital gown.”  _

_ Gwen threw her hands in the air and sighed. “Fine.” _

_ A couple minutes passed before the doctor checked in, saying she would be discharged later on in the day. He left with a wave of his hand and a plastered on grin. Gwen looked around the bland room, looking for something to do besides talk to David. As if on cue, he tossed a video game controller onto the bed. Gwen grinned devilishly at him with narrowed eyes.  _

_ “Oh, it’s on.”  _

\---

“Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

“Gwen?”   
“Oh, thank God. Get to the park right now. Wait, where are you?”   
“Not near the park. I took the car to visit the library, to see if he was there.”

“Okay, well, get to the park as soon as possible. I’m going after him right now.”

\---

_ Gwen bit her tongue, leaning closer and closer to the screen. She was only a couple points away from winning, when her character killed the last villains. Throwing her hands into the air in celebration, she jabbed a finger in David’s face, only stopping when she saw him staring right at her, smiling softly. It wasn’t that usual wide smile, but a small grin. As if he was genuinely happy.  _

_ David turned pink and looked down at the floor, clearing his throat. He set the controller down on the side table. Still not looking at Gwen, he began speaking.  _

_ “We need to talk.” _

_ Gwen’s heart sunk. “About?” _ _   
_ _ “Yesterday.” _

_ The fast-paced thumping in her chest resumed. She nodded mutely, gulping down her worries and fears, only to have them pop back up into her chest.  _

_ “Um, okay. Yesterday, you-- um, you, in Spanish--” David was fidgeting with his fingers and his ears were turning redder by the second. “I did take Spanish for a year, so I-I kinda know what you--” _

_ She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.  _ For fuck’s sake.  _ “I said I liked you, and that you were pretty?”  _ Doesn’t really matter anymore. Just kiss him already. What was it, closure? Yeah, closure. 

_ David beamed. “Yeah!” His face immediately fell and his hand went to the back of his neck, rubbing it nervously. “Well, about that--” _

_ “Yes, I know that that’s not going to work, since you’re dating Bonquisha. And, yes, I get it if this completely ruins our friendship, et cetera, et cetera.” _

_ “Um, that’s actually not what I was going to say.” David still had his hand behind his neck and looked even more nervous, if that was possible. “I-I broke up with Bonquisha about two weeks ago. It just wasn’t working out.” _

_ “Oh?”  _ Maybe…? 

No. No. No.  _   
_ _ “Yeah.” David gulped. “Also, I kinda like someone else?”  _ Oh. Better get that closure.  _   
_ __ “Really? Who’s the lucky lady?” Gwen leaned closer to David, feeling bold. He instinctively shifted backwards in his chair, and as he did, Gwen scooted even closer to him, feeling her cheeks grow warmer. 

_ The two sat in silence, staring into each other’s eyes, before Gwen quickly pecked David on the lips and drew away just as fast. David turned about as red as his gingery hair and buried his face in his hands. Gwen panicked, immediately smacking herself on her forehead.  _

_ “Agh, I’m so sorry!! I-I just--” _

_ “Gwen, it’s okay.”  _

_ Her eyebrows drew closer together in confusion. “What.” _

_ “Um, the other person I like is you?” he blurted out, making the statement sound like a question. Gwen squinted at his face. He was not lying. David never lied. Gwen leaned closer to him. His eyes held nothing but the truth, despite the nervousness and fidgeting. Her eyes grew wide as she realized he wasn’t making a fool of her, like many boys back in high school.  _

_ He was serious. Gwen drew forward and pressed her lips to David’s. The kiss was chaste enough and when she leaned back, giddy with happiness, David was grinning softly. Not the wide grin he normally wore, but that same gentle expression he gave Gwen when they were playing the game before. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so i'm thinking some of you would want more buildup for the gwenvid, but i'm not really good at that stuff, so i just kind of rushed it?? idk please tell me if you think it's too rushed! 
> 
> comments and kudos appreciated <33


	3. Something Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Please leave comments!!

“Finally you decided to show up.”

“There was traffic.”

“Traffic? In this town? Nice. Tell me another joke.”

“Gwen. First, we’re not in Sleepy Peak, we’re in New York. Second, Max.”

“Right. I'm 300% sure he went back home, but also not sure at the same time? So you go back home, and I'll go near the lake. I'll try to see if anyone’s seen him.”

“Couldn't you just tell me this on the phone?” 

“There was something else I had to tell you, but that can wait.”

“You sure?”

“David, the more time we spend talking, the further away Max gets.”

“Right.”

\---

_ Kind of like before, everything fell into place. But it was better now. David was Gwen's now. She got to see him everyday and hug him everyday (David did most of the hugging) and kiss him everyday (Gwen did most of the kissing) and just be with him. She was happy. Obviously, her pills were still her crutch, but she didn't bottle up anything that much anymore.  _

_ Of course, there was something to go wrong.  _

_ David showed up at her door at seven o'clock in the morning, banging frantically. Gwen made her way to the door, glaring at David as she opened the door.  _

_ “What.” Her hair wasn’t brushed yet and her eyebags were prominent, sticking out like a sore thumb.  _

_ “Good morning, dear. You look lovely. Um, anyways, y'know that summer camp thing I told you about?” _

_ “The one you wouldn't shut up about?” _

_ “Yup! That's the one. We need another counselor, the last one quit.” Muttering under his breath, David added, “Probably because of Max.” He smiled widely again. “Anyways, how would you like to go with me this year? I was going to go alone anyways, but since we need another person, it’d be more fun if you were there with me! Plus, you’d get lonely without me, haha.”  _

_ Gwen was silent and she rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You woke me up at seven in the morning to tell me that you need a new camp counselor!? Oh, for the love of fuck. Talk to me when I’ve gotten coffee, okay?” She slammed the door and stomped back to her bedroom, falling asleep again as soon as she hit the pillow.  _

_ When she did meet up with David later, she told him, no, she did not want to become a camp counselor. Gwen had almost regretted the words coming out of her mouth as soon as she said it, as David’s face fell in a mask of sadness. She wanted to reverse time just to get rid of the grief displayed on David’s face. But then she realized, that it was okay for her to not want to go.  _

_ “David, I’m not good with kids or nature. Really. I’d love to, but I just can’t. Plus, now that I started that new job and have enough money to go visit for Luca’s wedding anniversary, I really should.” Gwen reached out and placed her hand over David’s. He smiled sadly and nodded.  _

_ “I understand! Ah, I’m leaving tomorrow, okay? The cell reception is really spotty out there, so if you wanna talk, just write letters. Or just take your chances with the reception. And, you sure you’ll be okay with your parents?”  _

_ “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Gwen said nonchalantly, waving her hand dismissively. David smiled at her and leaned over the table to kiss Gwen on the cheek. He left Gwen alone with her thoughts with a wave of his hand.  _

\---

“Max! MAX! Where are you? Ugh, this is useless. If I could just track his phone… Nope, he left his phone at home. Fuckin’ hell!”

\---

_ The trouble was not that David needed another camp counselor. The trouble was something else, far greater.  _

_ Gwen had just finished packing for her trip to Oregon when she heard something that caught her attention on the news playing in the other room.  _

_ “The notorious cult leader, named Daniel Greenwood, has escaped from prison. If anyone has any information on his whereabouts, please call 911.” A picture flashed across the screen and Gwen jumped back. Daniel Greenwood was David, but not him. It was as if David had simply dyed his hair blonde and changed his eye color.  _ Davey told me he had a twin, and that he was in jail, but a fucking  cult leader ?!  _ Gwen grabbed her phone and called David, only to have go to voicemail immediately.  _ The reception's spotty.  _ The next thing she heard was a knocking at the door. Her heart jumped in her throat, as she warily tiptoed to the front door and saw a slip of paper slide underneath her door. Gwen picked it up.  _

_ It was a picture of David and Daniel in their younger days. The latter had blonde hair, while David had his signature gingery hair. The two were standing with their arms slung around each other's shoulders. The two were grinning at the camera, but Daniel's smile gave Gwen chills. She flipped it over. Perfectly spaced out letters covered the back.  _

_ Hi, Gwen!! I'm Daniel, David's brother. Wanna tell me where he is? I’m gonna make sure he gets what he deserves. See you on midnight, on Thursday at the park. (PS: if you call the police, I'll kill you). See you then!!!  _

_ Gwen’s blood ran cold and she dropped the picture, her hand trembling. Knees knocking together, she dashed to the kitchen and rummaged through her drawer for the address of Camp Campbell.  _

Thursday… That’s tomorrow. I’m supposed to be in Oregon by five o’clock Friday. Found it.  _ Gwen pulled out a scrap of paper covered in scratchy handwriting. David had given her the address in case she wanted to write letters to him. Without stopping for so much as a moment to think, Gwen tucked the paper into her jeans pocket, grabbed a backpack and stuffed necessities into it, shoved her suitcase into the trunk of her car and drove.  _

_ She drove, only pausing when she was fifteen minutes away from the town limits to take a deep breath. Gwen closed her eyes and drew out the address from her pocket. Camp Campbell, Lake Lilac, Sleepy Peak, New York. She massaged her temples and inhaled deeply.  _ Okay, okay. You got this. Gwen Santos is  not going to be outdone by some fucking cult leader!  _ Grabbing her phone, she input the address for Sleepy Peak, making sure to take the route that would go through the toll roads. That way, if Daniel tried to find her, he’d  _ _ have _ _ to go past the tollbooth, maybe prompting his capture. Not foolproof, but it’d work.  _

_ Sleepy Peak was nearly two hours away and Gwen found herself falling asleep at the wheel. Pinching herself to stay awake, she ran through the facts.  _

David has a twin. A cult leader twin. You knew the twin part, but not the cult leader part. Daniel wants to kill David for some reason. If you don’t tell Daniel where David is, he’ll kill you. So, you, Gwen Santos, are going to Camp Campbell to tell David-- And to save yourself? You haven’t called Luca to tell him you won’t be coming or your boss to tell him that you won’t be showing up to work. You have a shit ton of questions and HOLY FUCK DON'T DRIVE INTO THAT TREE. 

_ After another hour and a half, she arrived at the tired looking sign that marked Sleepy Peak. The town looked like it was sagging on itself. No lights were on, and it was deathly quiet. Sighing, Gwen drove around the town, attempting to locate a sign that led to Camp Campbell. Finally, after another fifteen minutes, she made a turn at the sign that, in the dark, looked like “Camp Camp.” It was a tiny settlement, as far as she could see, with a mess hall on one side, tents on the north side and the counselor's cabins on the other side. A bunch of activities seemed to be set up in the center, though it was a little hard to discern that in the darkness.  _

_ Parking and locking her car, Gwen cautiously tiptoed towards the counselor's cabin. She had to pass by the tents and she heard a couple voices arguing inside them. One kid had said, “I'm not going out there to see what it is!! Max, you go.”  _

_ “Max” replied, “Fuck no.” Gwen nodded slowly and continued her way to the wooden cabin. Knocking lightly, she hissed, “Davey? It's me!!”  _

_ The door opened a crack. “GWEN?!”  _

_ “Shut up, shut up!! There's kids sleeping over there!”  _

_ “Okay, okay, come in.” David ushered her inside. She perched herself on the edge of the bed and blinked. “Um, so, why are you here?”  _

Cut to the chase.  _ “Ah, er, your cult leader twin brother is trying to murder you?”  _

_ David’s eyes bugged out and he turned pale.  _

_ “He’s w-what?” _

_ “Daniel Greenwood is trying to kill you and he’ll kill me if I don’t tell him where you are by midnight on Thursday.” Gwen’s head was pounding and she laid down on the bed. It smelled of pine. Looking to her right, she saw an actual branch of pine lying on the mattress. Glancing back at David, she was about to make some snarky comment to brighten up the mood, but the words died in her throat as she saw David’s face covered in fear.  _

_ “He’s coming back. Oh no, he’s back.” He grabbed her by the shoulders. “GWEN! HE’S BACK! D’ya know what this means? It--” _ _   
_ _ “I’ll tell you what it means, David, it means you don’t freak out. Now, I don’t know anything about this man, but if there’s anyone I know who can take down their cultist twin, it’s you.” David relaxed a little. “And this Daniel might find this camp eventually, but we’re gonna send that motherfucker back where he belongs.” _

_ “That was pretty fucking good.” David and Gwen whirled around to find the population of Camp Campbell standing outside the now-open door. An Indian kid stood at the forefront of the group, with a devilish looking green-haired girl and a nervous brown-haired boy flanking his sides. Several other people stood behind the trio, including a kid wearing a space helmet and a girl with fake elf ears glued on her actual ones.  _

_ “Max! Go back to your tent!” _

_ “Nope. We’re taking this Daniel guy down.” David’s face brightened slightly. “Not because I care about you, asshole. The only person who’s allowed to ruin you is me! No way in hell am I letting Daniel do it for me!!”  _

_ “Someone tell me who these pipsqueaks are?” Gwen interjected, crossing her arms over her chest. Max hopped his way inside the cabin and stuck out his hand in greeting, smiling nefariously.  _

_ “Max Chauhan. I fucking hate Camp Campbell. Pleased to meet you.”  _

_ “Hey-y. Language,” David added, wagging his finger in warning.  _

_ “Suck a dick, David.”  _

_ Gwen’s eyes bugged out as she got introduced to the rest of the campers. They were the weirdest group with the oddest niche talents and Gwen was baffled. Neil was a wimpy science nerd with the vocabulary of a sailor. Nikki was Tarzan. Nurf was-- Gwen didn’t even want to start with him.  _

_ “So what’s the plan?” Nikki asked excitedly, jumping up and down. At this point, David was considerably calmed down. He placed a hand on Nikki’s shoulder and pushed her gently towards the door.  _

_ “The plan is that we sleep.” _

\---

“DAVID. I can’t find him. He’s not by the lake, he’s not back in the park.”

“Agh, he’s not at home either. I checked Neil and Nikki’s too. Not there either.”

“Where could he be?!”

\---

_ And sleep they did, although there were many complaints.  _

_ The next morning, Gwen stood up in the mess hall and looked out in the sparse sea of campers. David stood up beside her. _

_ “Uh, good morning everyone.” _

_ “Hiya, Gwen,” the space kid announced. Gwen nodded uncomfortably and cleared her throat.  _

_ “Now, I haven’t been here for even a day, but I should probably tell you guys what’s going to happen. David has a twin brother named Daniel Greenwood.” _

_ “Holy fuck, your brother’s that cult leader!? The one that murdered three hundred people?” Preston shouted out from the back of the room, prompting David to shush him. He gestured for Gwen to continue.  _

_ “Um, yeah. So he might come to Camp Campbell to find David.” _

_ “Is he gonna murder David?” Nikki asked.  _

_ “I don’t fuckin’ know, kid!” Gwen burst out harriedly. She was already nervous about Daniel following her to Sleepy Peak, she hadn’t got any sleep last night, and on top of that, David had insisted she explain the whole situation. “Honestly, he might, he might not, that man’s a cult leader, okay?”  _

_ She took a deep breath. “So, we have to come up with a plan to make sure David doesn’t get found.” _

_ Max stood up on one of the tables, shoving his hands into his sweatshirt pocket. “David can die for all I fucking care. But if this Daniel is coming to ruin David, only I’m allowed to do that,” he announced. “So what’s the plan?”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments!! They really mean a lot to me and my heart lights up whenever I see that someone left a comment!!!


	4. The Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!!

“Gwen, he’s probably not here. He hates this place. He hates nature, remember?”

“You can never be sure of anything. He might’ve acted like he hated it, but he really did enjoy coming here, even if he was reluctant to admit it.”

“How did you even tell?”   
“Psych major, remember?”   
“Right.”

\---

_ Gwen was sitting cross-legged on the spare bed in the counselor’s cabin, biting her nails nervously. The thudding in her chest hadn’t stopped and she reached for her bag, swallowing a few pills dry. It had been a week since she had arrived at Camp Campbell and Daniel hadn’t shown his slimy face anywhere. David was sleeping quietly on the other side of the room, snoring lightly, without a care. Gwen flopped down onto the pillow. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, running through the checklist in her mind.  _

_ Turn off everyone’s phone? Check.  _

_ Find a hiding place for David just in case? Check. _

_ Make sure that Gwen’s car was parked in Sleepy Peak? Check.  _

_ Anything else? Check.  _

_ Gwen turned over to her side to look at David’s face. Getting up to get a better look at it, she stood over David’s bed, not in a creepy manner, but simply to examine his face. She squinted and noticed there was a light dusting of freckles dotting his upper face. Smiling, she poked his nose and giggled softly. She stopped laughing when he began to stir.  _

_ “Gwen? Why are you standing over my bed?” Gwen turned pink immediately and froze. Before she could answer, a knocking came from the door.  _ It’s the campers, it’s the campers, not Daniel--  _ She walked over to the door and grasping the doorknob tightly, she cracked it open bit by bit. A tuft of brown hair was visible and Gwen let out a sigh of relief she didn’t even know she was holding.  _

_ “Oh. It’s just you, Neil.” _

_ “Yup, just me.” The boy kept looking around nervously.  _

_ “What’s up?” _ _  
_ _ “There’s a raccoon near the mess hall.” Gwen’s eyes went wide and the thumping in her rib cage resumed. Her hands began shaking and she whirled around, bumping right into David. During her conversation with Neil, he had walked over to the door in confusion.  _

_ “What’s wrong, Neil?” David asked, frowning.  _

_ “Er, there’s a raccoon near the mess hall, I already told you.” At this point, Neil was wringing his hands together. Gwen could almost hear the racing of his heart. David turned pale again and he nodded quickly.  _

_ Pulling Neil into the cabin, Gwen pushed David towards the trapdoor in the floor. Leaving those two behind, she rushed outside towards the tents to see everyone gathered in the middle of the semicircle of tents. Max, obviously, was in the center of the whole thing, watching the white car pull up to the mess hall a good fifty yards away. A man completely covered in white emerged from the car and for a moment, it seemed like he was glowing in the dark with his platinum blonde hair.  _

_ Gwen tried to usher the kids towards the cabin so she could talk Daniel away, but they stood their ground.  _

_ “I hate David, but I don’t want him to die,” Max hissed menacingly. As he spoke, Daniel turned towards the circle of tents. Gwen could hear his neck cracking from where she was standing. Her blood ran cold and she once again, tried to secure the children’s safety.  _

_ “We don’t like David, but we don’t want him to die,” Nikki repeated, stepping out of the circle towards Daniel, her mouth pulled into a snarl. Nurf brandished a knife from his pocket (Gwen didn’t want to think about where it came from) and joined Nikki. Gwen, frozen in shock, swiveled around as she heard footsteps behind her. David rushed towards the circle, fully dressed, Neil tagging behind.  _

_ “David! Go back to the cabin!” _

_ “Nope.”  _

_ “Wha--”  _

_ “Why, hello, my dearest brother!” Daniel had reached the very edge of the circle, mere steps away from Nikki and Nurf. Gwen whirled around and her heart rate accelerated. He was carrying a white briefcase in one hand and a crooked dagger in the other hand. The smile on his face could not be mistaken for cheerfulness, it could only be described as menacing and creepy.  _

_ David, rather than paling in the face of danger, stood up a little straighter and marched towards Daniel, keeping behind Nikki and Nurf. “Hello, Daniel.”  _

_ A silence hung between them as they glared at each other. Gwen could feel the campers on edge, ready to do react the minute Daniel moved. As for her, she was reaching into her pocket, curling her fingers around a can of pepper spray. A voice in her head said  _ Get those kids away! They might be injured, or worse. Imagine all the legal ramifications…  _ But something else told her that even if she tried to get the campers away, they wouldn’t. They said they hated David, but this entire scenario proved wrong.  _

_ Suddenly, as quick as lightning, Daniel raised his dagger and took a blow at David. Before the counselor could react, Nerris had thrown something, knocking the dagger out of his hand.  _

_ Daniel’s gaze turned to Nerris and he smiled coldly. “I see how we’re playing this. Very well. Jen, Ethan, everyone?” _

_ Shadows stepped out of the darkness of the woods and towards the campers. A frigid hand grasped Gwen’s wrist and she spun around, her finger pushing down on the pepper spray can, blasting the concoction into her assailant’s eyes. She received nothing but a terrifying grin and a shock. The woman standing before her looked exactly her and it terrified Gwen. Jen was the carbon copy of her, with platinum blonde hair. Her sky-blue eyes were vacant and empty. The next thing Gwen realized was that Jen was wearing goggles, effectively stopping the pepper spray.  _

_ Gwen launched herself at Jen and the two were locked in battle. Meanwhile, other cultists had thrown themselves at the campers. Nurf, Preston and Space Kid were fighting off someone else with platinum blonde hair.  _ All these cultists have platinum blonde hair? Jeez, talk about twinning.  _ Ered, Nerris and Harrison were working together to hold some other woman from getting to David. Dolph was throwing paint at anyone who dared to come near him. Neil, Nikki and Max formed a circle around David, with Nikki hissing and growling at anyone and everyone, even a platypus who had wandered into the area. Daniel was watching amusedly as he kept his eye on David, who was (to his credit), keeping a calm facade.  _

_ Then it happened. Gwen threw Jen into the ground with a deft kick in the ribs. She fell down with a yelp and thump. Nikki looked over to Gwen, losing her concentration for a split second. Daniel moved in and was at David’s throat in a heartbeat. Everyone froze. Gwen’s heart stopped.  _

_ “Well, Davey. You couldn’t keep away from me forever. I told you, I’d get my revenge eventually.” Daniel’s eyes grew wide and his neck cracked again as he tilted his head, as if to maximize the eeriness of his character. Time seemed to slow down and Gwen could only watch, frozen in place, unable to move herself. Daniel raised his dagger as it glinted in the moonlight and brought it down to David’s jugular. Then David did the weirdest thing.  _

_ He smiled at Daniel. _

_ And in that time frame in which Daniel dropped his guard to express his confusion, Gwen unfroze, whipped out the can of pepper spray and sprayed it directly into Daniel’s eyes. Some of it got into David’s eyes, but the mark hit the target.  _

_ The campground erupted into cries.  _

_ Daniel stumbled back, screaming and clutching at his eyes. The dagger dropped to the ground and Harrison snatched it up, making it disappear as quickly as he could. Nerris immediately jumped in front of Harrison, protecting him from any of the other approaching cultists as she threw her dice into their eyes.  _

_ Jen aimed a blow at Gwen’s arm, but she dodged and grabbed Jen from the other side, once again slamming her down onto the dirt. This time, she stayed down, Jen’s arm snapping audibly as she thudded against the ground. Gwen spat on the ground next to the motionless Jen and marched off towards David and Max, who was trying to help get the pepper spray out of David’s eyes.  _

_ Nearby, Nikki was dragging the squirming Daniel away. Nurf was helping and Neil followed behind, holding the gleaming briefcase tightly to his chest.  _

_ All around them, the various cultists were yelling in pain as paint bombs were thrown at them or if theatre skulls (Gwen never knew the name for them) bombarded them. One by one, they fled until the campsite was empty, save for Daniel and Jen. A quiet fell over the camp, the only noise breaking the silence was Daniel’s whimpers of agony and Nikki kicking him.  _

_ Looking around at the campers, Gwen placed one hand on her hip and pumped the other one triumphantly in the air. Her forehead was covered in a sheen of sweat and a cut grazed her shoulder. Blood leaked freely and she didn’t care. David was safe (for the time being, despite Max still rubbing frantically at David’s eyes as the poor man screamed in pain), no one died, and the batshit cultists were gone.  _

_ Gwen would call today a win.  _

\---

“Max! You better be here, or I’m going to call CPS!”

“David, don’t say that! He’ll think you actually mean it.”

“Oh, God, you’re right. I’m sorry, please come back!! I won’t call CPS, I promise! Just talk to us. Please?” 

\---

_ And then in the whole aftermath of the incident (Ered called her dads, who, thankfully, did not ask how and why a cultist was on a campground, and took Daniel and Jen away), it was revealed David had changed his last name so people wouldn’t know him only by his crazy twin. In addition, Gwen decided to stay at the camp for the rest of the summer. Over time, she got to know the campers a little better.  _

_ One thing she found astonishing was that they had worked so well together, but they wanted nothing to do with each other. The only “group” was Max, Nikki and Neil. Nerris and Harrison said they hated each other, just for the fact that the other’s magic was the “wrong” magic. Nurf was just down-right concerning. Dolph was just as worrying.  _

_ And Max. That boy was… unique. He was ten, but acted like he was fifty years old. He made a big deal about something not being a big deal. He was bitter and angry, as if the world had thrown acid onto him everyday since he was born. The same blue sweatshirt was on every single day, despite the sweltering temperatures of New York.  _

Maybe…?  _ Gwen was sitting down, her legs propped up onto the table, filing her nails as she was thinking.  _ No, it can’t be that.  _ She dropped her legs and padded over to the window. Looking out at David trying to teach them how to tie knots, Gwen noticed Max wasn’t even trying. He did that every time, but today seemed different.  _

_ Normally, it was as if he was trying to make David’s life a living hell, but today, it seemed like he didn’t care. Usually, he didn’t care  _ _ to _ _ annoy David, but today he didn’t care just because he didn’t care. Gwen narrowed her eyes at the group and tried not to think much into it. Max was having a bad day. She shook her head and went back to the table. It probably wasn’t whatever she was thinking.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave comments!! they really mean a lot!! <333


	5. The Summers

“ _ David _ ?! How the fuck did you find me here?!”

“Er, Gwen figured it out.”

“Well, great. You gonna call CPS now?”

“Max, David didn’t mean it, alright?”

“How do I know? HOW DO I KNOW YOU AREN’T GONNA THROW ME AWAY?”

“Max--”

“HOW DO I KNOW YOU WON’T THROW ME AWAY LIKE MY REAL PARENTS DID?!”

\---

_ The summer ended. Gwen and David returned home, after a tearful farewell to all the campers. Mainly David, but hey. After two months of being stuck with those idiots, they grew on her. Maybe she shed a few tears.  _ _  
_ _ More time passed. Gwen and David moved in together and Gwen graduated. She was now the proud owner of two useless degrees: Psychology and Liberal Arts. David had reassured her, saying it was a great accomplishment to have two degrees. Gwen had thanked her boyfriend for her words, but deep down, she could hear her family admonish her.  _

_ Gwen’s family had found out about David through the most awkward way possible. She had been facetiming her father and youngest sister when David swung the front door open dramatically. He swooped down and kissed Gwen on the cheek without any warning. An awkward silence followed when David noticed the middle aged Colombian man staring at him in confusion. The lull was broken by Gwen’s father yelling in Spanish. Amidst the ranting, Maria, the youngest sister, had smiled and given her a thumbs up.  _

_ “Hi, Gwen’s boyfriend!! Treat her well, okay?” she whispered, grinning widely.  _

_ David had nodded hurriedly and turned red, whilst beaming.  _

_ The entire year rolled by, and summer was upon them again. David had pestered her about actually becoming a counselor and finally, she gave in. Gwen wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she wanted to see those troublemakers again.  _

_ It had been the day after they arrived at the camp and had moved all their things into the counselor’s cabin. Gwen was unpacking David’s suitcase, as he was outside talking to Mr. Campbell about hiring her. She was rummaging through the belongings, when she noticed a bottle of pills. Gwen frowned. David never mentioned he was taking any medicine. Flipping the bottle over, her eyes widened at the prescription.  _

_ It was the same kind of anxiety pills Gwen was prescribed. The date written on the bottle was only a couple months ago. Gwen blinked and turned towards David, who had just walked into the cabin. He smiled in greeting but the grin fell quickly as Gwen shoved the bottle into his face. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, holding up a finger. Gwen crossed her arms over her chest and gestured for David to speak.  _

_ “Well, um, see--” _

_ “Davey, I’m not mad. I just want you to tell me why you hid this.” _

_ He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and bit his lip. David made his way to his bed, sitting down right at the edge. Gwen sat down next to him and laid a hand on his back. Several moments passed before she even noticed he was shaking with silent sobs. She began panicking slightly before thinking,  _ You got this, Santos. If there’s anyone you can comfort, even if you’re really bad at this, it’s David. 

_ “David, you don’t have to tell me now, it’s okay.” Gwen rubbed his back in small circles and murmured soft nothings to him as David cried.  _

_ A few minutes passed and finally David spoke.  _

_ “I-I was afraid.” _

_ “Of?” _

_ “I was afraid you’d think I was weak.” _

_ “David, I never thought you were weak.” _

_ “I thought if I put on the bright mask everyday, then no one would think I was weak and sad. Plus, you had your own problems too, right?” _

_ “Listen to me.” Gwen placed her hands on David’s shoulders and looked straight into his bloodshot, beautiful green eyes. “A relationship is two people dealing with their problems together.” Her voice turned hard. “If you bottle up your feelings, it’s not going to do any of us any good. I’m your partner. I’ll help you.” _

_ David nodded tearfully.  _

_ “You’re David. David Greene, my boyfriend of nearly two years. The strong, romantic, lovely, amazing person. Okay? Now, I’m not very good at this kind of stuff, but remember this. I love you.” David nodded once more and burst into tears again. Gwen circled her arms around David, pulling him into a hug and patting his back comfortingly.  _

_ “I love you too, Gwen. Je t'aime aussi,” he choked out, soaking the front of her t-shirt with his tears. Gwen nodded understandingly and patted his back.  _

_ They stayed like that for a long time before Max kicked the door open and proceeded to gag in disgust.  _

\---

“Max, we’re here for you. We won’t abandon you. You’re our Max.”

“ … ” 

“David’s right, Max. Please.”

\---

_ The entire summer passed by and all of a sudden, it was the last week of camp. And something was wrong.  _

_ David had seemed on edge for the whole day and he was clearly nervous about something. Max was in a decent mood; he didn’t actually try to make Gwen and David’s life a hell. Nikki was well-behaved and didn’t try to pull out Neil’s hair. Frankly, it was as if the entire camp was put under a spell. It was concerning Gwen.  _

_ Later that same day, Gwen had to drive into town to go with Quartermaster to buy some extra sunscreen. David had volunteered her for the project, confusing Gwen. Normally, he jumped at the chance to “bond” with the quartermaster, who Gwen tried to avoid at all costs.  _

_ “Hey, QM, what’s up with the campers? They’re acting weird,” she tried, training her eyes on the bright sticker advertising SPF 40.  _

_ “Your job dealing with the young’uns. Not mine, young woman,” he grunted, placing a bottle back on the shelf after accidentally poking a hole in it. He stomped over to the other display and Gwen nodded slowly. She put the bottle down and continued thinking.  _

_ For some reason, the trip to town and back had been stretched until nine o’clock at night. As they drove back, Gwen lifted her legs up onto the dashboard and looked out to the dark trees, deep in thought. They pulled into the campground a couple minutes later, no sign of any campers outside. Gwen got out of the car and took a deep breath, heading towards the counselor’s cabin, a bag full of sunscreen in hand. As she walked past the tents, Space Kid poked his head out of his.  _

_ “Hey, Gwen!! Gwen! I can’t find my helmet anywhere, and David didn’t help me look for it.” Gwen sighed.  _

_ “Okay. Let’s go.” Space Kid popped out of his tent and grabbed Gwen’s free hand. He pulled her towards the woods. As they walked further in, Gwen became more and more confused.  _

_ “Hey, Space Kid. Do you actually remember where your helmet is?” _

_ “Umm, it’s in the woods. Near the lake, I think?” He placed a finger on his chin and his face brightened. “Yeah, near the lake!” _

_ “All right, then.” The two of them marched towards the lake, Space Kid checking behind every bush for his helmet. They reached the edge of the lake when Gwen noticed something out on the water, not too far from the shore. The moon did an okay job of lighting up the camp usually, but the clouds covered the light, preventing Gwen from seeing who was out on the lake.  _

_ “Hey, kid. Who’s out on the lake this late?” Gwen squinted and jolted when a flashlight was opened on the lake. Peering even further, she saw Nerris and Harrison on a boat holding up a sign that read “GWEN.” Another light began to shine. Neil and Dolph were holding up another sign. “WILL.” Preston and Nurf. “YOU.” Ered and Nikki. “MARRY.” Gwen’s heart began to race. The final flashlight lit up. Max was carrying “ME?” Gwen dropped Space Kid’s hand in shock and stood frozen in the moonlight.  _

_ Noticing someone else on the dock, her heart began to thump even faster. David was walking towards her, carrying something in his hand. Eventually, he made it to her. He solemnly dropped down onto one knee and brandished a box. At this point, Gwen was shaking and it took several breaths for her to calm herself down.  _

_ David opened up the box to reveal a slim ring, set with amethysts. The same color as Gwen’s eyes.  _

_ “Gwen.” David looked up at her and she saw nothing but love in his eyes. Love and adoration. “You have been my best friend and girlfriend for nearly two years now and it would make me the happiest man on the planet if you could be with me forever. You make me happy and help me see the best in the world. So--” David bit his lip. “Will you marry me?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)))))


	6. Marriage?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoyyy

_ Silence. A deafening silence as Gwen remained quiet. David began to panic a little, darting his eyes around. Finally,  _ _ finally _ _ , Gwen smiled widely and threw her arms around David.  _

_ “YES! Yes, yes, yes!! A thousand times yes!” Gwen exclaimed, gripping the back of David’s shirt and pulling him into a hug. She pulled back after a couple seconds and kissed him right on the lips. Tiny cheers could be heard from the lake as Nikki and Preston jumped up and down on their boats (followed with Ered and Nurf scolding them).  _

_ Gwen smiled softly and gazed into David’s eyes. Those beautiful emerald eyes that helped her, supported her and loved her. She was going to be married to that amazing man, the love of her life.  _

\---

“How do I know you aren’t lying?”

“Max, has David ever lied to you?” 

“ … “

“Exactly. You can tell us. Please, we want to help you.”

“You won’t understand!!” 

“I know we can’t exactly relate, but we can try our best. That’s our job, right? Please tell me and Gwen.”

\---

_ The wedding weekend came, in early April. Under Gwen’s insistence that Camp Campbell was too far to have the wedding, David agreed to hold the wedding in a park. All of the campers were invited and many of David’s other friends from Canada showed up. Gwen’s family came, including her grandfather.  _

_ When Gwen’s father showed up at the airport, David walked right up to him and shook his hand warmly. Maria was standing behind him, waving at Gwen. Luca walked in, arm in arm with his own wife, with Gwen’s grandfather walking right behind them. Gwen’s eyes grew wide and she grabbed David’s arm. She narrowed her eyes.  _ Y’know what? I got this.  _ Letting go of David’s forearm, she marched up to him and pulled her grandfather into a hug. He stiffened immediately and tried to get away from her.  _

_ “¡Hola, Abuelo! ¿Cómo estás haciendo?”  _

_ “Good,” he grunted.  _

_ “ ¿Sabes inglés?” _

_ “Yes. Eduardo help me learn.” _

_ “Oh! That’s great! I can help you too, if you want!” He gave a confused look. “Puedo ayudarte también, si quieres,” she tacked on.  _

_ “Ah, okay.” Her grandfather looked visibly uncomfortable and out of the corner of her eye, Gwen could see David looking over at her in concern. She nodded, barely noticeable, just enough for David to know she was good. He nodded his head in response and turned back to making conversation with Mrs. Santos.  _

_ “So, Abuelo, let's talk!”  _

_ “About?”  _

_ Gwen shrugged. It was getting tiring, trying to make conversation with an eighty year old man who hated your guts at one point. But she had to be the bigger person. “Anything, Abuelo.”  _

_ “Um, you are going to marry a man, verdad?”  _

_ Gwen sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She should’ve know this topic would come up eventually. “Yes, me voy a casar un hombre. A man, not a woman.” _

_ “I want to tell you that… er… Yo era malo. I know that I love you, husband or wife.” Gwen looked into her grandfather’s eyes in surprise. He was smiling, the wrinkles framing his eyes. Placing his hand over her’s, he patted it quite awkwardly. The two sat like that until all of the luggage had been collected and David waved them over to leave.  _

_ “Everything good?” he asked under his breath, after Gwen had helped her grandfather into the car. She grabbed a suitcase and dropped it into the trunk, on top of all the other ones. Wiping her hands on her jeans, she nodded.  _

_ “Great.” _

_ “Um, Gwen. Question. How many siblings do you have?” _

_ “Maria, Luca, Erika-- does she count?-- and I have another brother living in Colombia. He’s not coming for the wedding though. So, four? Why do you ask?”  _

_ David shrugged and looked around before speaking. “Your mom was looking around like she was missing someone.” _

Oh. OH.  _ “Oh. Mama’s been kind of lost ever since Maria’s twin died. She always looks around like she’s looking for her, and it gets worse around big family events, like weddings. Maria was really little when it happened, so she doesn’t really remember much about her and it’s not as bad as Mama’s.” _

_ “Ah. Okay. Your mom kinda seemed a little out there when I was talking to her.” _

_ “Nah, don’t worry. She loves you.” Gwen pecked David’s cheek and headed for the driver’s seat. As she hopped into the seat, she turned around to make sure everyone was there. And everyone was there. There was just one extra person.  _

_ A little white kid with fluffy brown hair was sitting on Maria’s lap. He was wearing a yellow shirt with a purple polo underneath it. Waving to Gwen, he pointed to David and gave her a thumbs up. Suddenly, the kid disappeared. Looking at David and her family, no one noticed the child. It was as if he was a… ghost.  _

\---

“Okay.”

“You’ll let us help you?”

“Yes.”

\---

_ The wedding day arrived. Gwen was terrified. She was absolutely terrified. Her mother was freaking out and running around, her dad was having a slight mental breakdown, Maria had been shamelessly flirting with David’s best man for the whole week and David was a completely different matter. He had been a train wreck, freaking out about the various flower arrangements with Mrs. Santos, getting “the talk” from Mr. Santos and Luca, and talking with Maria on how to seduce the best man.  _

_ Another issue that affected David was the fact that all the campers had been invited to the ceremony. All had arrived with their parents, even Nurf, but Max had not arrived yet. It certainly put a dent in David's mood.  Gwen had tried to not let it bother her, but deep down, she was worried. Worried for Max.  _

_ Then it was before the ceremony, when Gwen was supposed to get her makeup done, but clearly, the universe was fucking with them that whole weekend. The makeup artist had been run out by Nikki, who tore up the artist’s hotel room, stealing all of her supplies.  _

_ At this point in time, Gwen's mother was about to have a heart attack. Thankfully, Nerris’ mom was a makeup artist and agreed to do Gwen's makeup for a reduced price.  _

_ Gwen was sitting alone in her dressing room, touching her hair anxiously and smoothing her dress out constantly, when someone entered the room. She whirled around, about to kick out whoever was in her room, when she froze. Max. He was wearing his normal blue sweatshirt and the regular grimace decorated his face.  _

_ “MAX?! What are you doing here? And where are your parents?” Max frowned and walked over to her. He jumped up onto the stool next to her and grabbed the highlighter. Gwen knit her brows together, trying to stop Max.  _

_ “Stop it, Gwen,” he muttered. He opened it up and coated a brush in the sparkly substance. Looking up, he dotted the highlighter lightly across Gwen’s cheekbones and across the bridge of her nose. When she glanced at the mirror, she realized it was supposed to mimic freckles. Kind of like David's freckles. When the light bounced off her face, the freckles shimmered in the brightness. Looking back at Max, Gwen noticed he was leaning back, admiring his handiwork. He nodded and set the highlight down, jumping off the stool.  _

_ “So many things have gone wrong and I’ll be damned if this wedding goes wrong too,” he mumbled, reaching up and smoothing out part of Gwen’s hair. Doing a once-over, he nodded again. He turned around to leave the room when Gwen reached out to him. _

_ “Max, wait.” He stopped. “Where are your parents? Why’re you here?” Max had never responded to the RSVP, so she thought that he wasn’t coming at all. And if his parents were here, she wanted to talk to them. Just so she could put her suspicions to rest.  _ _   
_ _ Silence. “I came here because I know David’s going to mess up something. I have to make sure everything goes okay. And my parents. They’re not here.” _

_ “What do you mean?” _ _   
_ _ “Came with… my grandma.” _

_ “Oh. Where are you going now? D’ya have a hotel room? If not, go find my mom, she’ll--” _

_ Max turned around to face Gwen and looked down at the ground. “I’m staying with my grandma.”  _

_ “Max, you just said you came with your grandma.” Gwen was growing worried, her brain kicking into overdrive. The stress from the wedding was already fucking with her head, but this just added to the weight.  _

_ Max darted his eyes around and blurted out, “I-I… I took a bus, Gwen! I didn’t want to miss this, but my parents wouldn’t let me come. I took a bus. My grandmother lives in New York City, so I can find her.” There was an odd vulnerability in his voice, the regular bite gone. It was then that Gwen realized he hadn’t cursed since he got into the room.  _

_ Gwen frowned at Max and got up off the stool. “I think the fuck not. You can stay here, in the hotel. Come here.” She grabbed him by the wrist and marched out of the room, hiking her dress way above her knees. Right outside the room, Gwen’s mother was running down the hall, her hair a royal mess.  _

_ “Gwen! What are--!!” _

_ “Mama, go get ready. I’ll be right back.” Gwen left her mother in the hallway and continued down towards Maria’s room. She knew there was an extra bed in there. Pushing the door open, she pulled Max into the room and set him down onto the bed. Kneeling down, Gwen looked Max directly in the eyes.  _

_ “Max. Listen to me. There’s only a couple hours before the ceremony starts. What did you mean, ‘David’s going to mess something up.’? What did he do?” _

_ “Nothing. I-I didn’t want to miss this, and knowing David, he’s going to trip over his feet at the altar. I need to yell at him.” Max said all this in a hurry, in the same breath. Gwen took a deep breath and nodded. Nothing that Max had just said made sense, but it did, in a way.  _

_ “Okay. Fine. When Maria gets here, tell her that you’re Max. She’ll know. After that, go down to Preston’s room and borrow some of his clothes. I have to go now.” Gwen bit her lip, thinking. “Right. Does David know you’re here?” _

_ Max shook his head. That same vulnerability was still there, as if he hadn’t put his guard back up. Something was wrong.  _

_ “Okay, go tell him after you change.” _

\---

“Okay, Max. Start from the beginning.”

“Well, on February 19th, 2007, Max Chauhan was--”

“Max, don’t fucking do that. We’re being serious.”

\---

_ “Gwen… you look beautiful,” David said. He took in the freckles and bit his lip to keep from laughing. Gwen smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Gazing into David’s eyes, she lost herself in the pool of stunning emerald. Suddenly, it was happening.  _

_ “Do you, David Greene, take Gwendolyn Santos as your lawfully wedded wife?” _

_ David grinned at her and nodded. “I do.” _

_ “And do you, Gwendolyn Santos, take David Greene as your lawfully wedded husband?” At this point, Gwen’s heart had been pounding wildly.  _ This is it, Gwen. This is it.  _ The world disappeared before her eyes and all she could see was David’s face. She smiled widely.  _

_ “I do.”  _

_ “And by the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride,” the pastor said, turning to David.  _

_ “Oh, hell no. I’m kissing the groom!” Gwen exclaimed, tossing her bouquet into the crowd and grabbing David’s face. She pressed her lips to his and the world exploded around them. Everything just happy, all happy. Gwen was thrilled, overjoyed, excited. She was married!! _

_ Three years ago, she never even thought she'd have been married. She thought she was going to die alone, sitting bitterly at the bride's people table, watching Maria walk up the aisle with some faceless guy. Hell, she thought she was going to attend David's wedding with a frown on her face! Gwen thought she was going to have to watch David kiss someone else and have kids with someone else and  _ _ be _ _ someone else's. That thought was nauseating by itself.  _

_ But now, he was hers. That was all that mattered.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My faves got!! married!!! whooohoo  
> please leave comments!!!!


	7. Post-Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy my lovelies <3

“They weren't mean. They didn't hit me or anything at the start. Mamma was stressed with her job; she was a makeup artist for some rising actress and stuff. She'd bring me along so I learnt about that stuff from a young age. Dad was different. He was a piece of trash. He started cheating on Mom when I was three.

“They'd fight. Mamma would take her anger out on me. Dad would too.” 

“Go on.”

“It got worse. Mamma got drunk all the time. If I did anything wrong, they’d hurt me. Eventually, they sent me to Camp Campbell because Dad didn’t want to see me at all. He always thought I was a mistake. The only thing that disrupted his perfect life. Well, actually, he felt that Mamma was paying more attention to me than him.”

“Okay. Did you ever talk to the police?”

“No. If I did, Dad said he’d do worse things to me.” 

\---

_ “So you got Davey!!” Gwen whirled around. Behind her stood that same boy she had seen when she was picking her parents up from the airport. He waved happily, rocking on the balls of his feet. Squinting her eyes, she got up from her spot and walked towards the child.  _

_ Gwen had never believed in ghosts, but upon further inspection, she realized this kid didn’t have a shadow. Stepping forward, she looked around to make sure no one was there. Maria waved to her and continued talking to the best man. David was talking with his entire side of the family. Everyone was preoccupied.  _

_ “Hey, what’s your name?” _

_ “I’m Jasper! And I came here to tell you something.” He grew serious. “Take good care of Davey. Please. I couldn’t do it, so I’m passing the duty to you.” Jasper smiled again. “Bye now!” And just like that, he disappeared in a bit of fog.  _

_ “Gwen? Wanna come meet my mom?” David asked from behind her. She jumped and slowly turned to face David. Gwen had seen Caroline Greenwood before on facetime, but never in real life, given that they lived in Canada. She nodded yes, swallowing nervously.  _

_ “Are you okay?” he asked, resting a hand on her shoulder. “You look like you just saw a ghost.” _

\---

“Where the fuck are your parents right now?! I wanna go and just-- just-- UGH!! I’m so mad. Max, you better tell me where they are so I can go beat the fuck out of them.”

“I already told you on Parent’s Day. They didn’t even bother to tell me which state they were moving to.” 

\---

_ The wedding was over. It was time to sleep. That is, for everyone except Gwen and David. They were sitting in their hotel room with an angry ten-year old in front of them. He was crying and crying and they didn’t know what to do. Gwen studied psychology for four fucking years and  _ she  _ didn’t know!!  _

_ “Why do they hate me, why, why?!” Max was sobbing and David reached out to pat him on the back. Max jerked his head up, flinched and dove for Gwen’s lap. Curling up against her chest, he started sobbing again. Instinctively, she smoothed Max’s hair and rubbed his back until he quieted down. He just repeated one word. “Why, why, WHY?!” He was screaming.  _

_ “Shh, shh, it’s okay, Max. It’s okay. We’re here for you,” Gwen murmured. David reached over and held Max’s hand. Slowly, but surely, his tears were reduced to hiccups. His hiccups turned to tiny, even breaths in and tiny, even breaths out. Gwen picked him up and placed him in between herself and David. They drifted into slumber, the two of them, the small Indian boy tucked in between them.  _

Vulnerability…  _ was Gwen’s last thought before she fell asleep.  _

\---

“David, stop. Getting mad won’t help.”

“Says you, Gwen! You just said you wanted to beat the hooey out of Max’s parents. Max, continue.”

\---

_ Camp Camp time rolled around. The same old stuff happened. Max never brought up what happened at the wedding again. And suddenly, it was the end of the summer. Around the same time David proposed to her. _

_ Speaking of David, he decided to organize a Parent’s Day. Just to show them that their kids were doing good things in Camp Campbell, given the sketchiness of the whole operation. Mr. Campbell had been anxious about the authorities finding out about the illegality of the camp’s activities and had taken his anger out on David, but at this point, it was useless.  _

_ The day arrived, and with it, so did all the parents. Except for one’s. Gwen had been worried about Max the whole two months between the wedding and the start of camp. What were his parents doing to him? And what was her role in it? Could she do anything?  _ Should  _ she do anything?  _

_ Max was snickering as he saw the rest of the kids talking tiredly to their parents, but Gwen saw something else. He was sad. He wanted to talk to his parents and be like the rest of them. But he kept his guard up. The vulnerability was gone.  _

_ “This Parent’s Day has to go off without a hitch. Until this one’s actual parents get here, you three are going to be the perfect nuclear family!” Campbell insisted. Max’s eyes bugged out and none of his protesting could dampen David’s enthusiasm.  _

_ Max kept on insisting that his parents didn’t care about this kind of stuff, and that they wouldn’t show up to stuff like this. And as the day grew longer, Gwen began to believe it. It was already past four o’clock and they hadn’t shown up. The list of questions about Max’s behavior and parents was just growing longer. She hadn’t shared her suspicions with David just yet, but she could see that he was beginning to pick up on something odd.  _

_ And then it was time for the camp-tivities. Nerris was showing off her LARPing, Dolph was displaying his paintings, and Ered was demonstrating how to get on a skateboard to her parents. The only person not doing anything was Max. He stared blankly at his friends and just for a second,  _ just  _ for a split second, Gwen could’ve sworn he had tears budding up in his eyes. Then he blinked and it was over.  _

_ The day passed by. Then it was the end of the day. The parents had gathered around the stage, waiting to see what their child could do.  _

_ “Come on up, Mom and Dad, so I can saw one of you in half!” Harrison’s parents screamed and clutched at each other as the little boy’s face fell. He bit his lip and jumped off the stage. Gwen, who had run back from the office with Max’s paperwork, frowned as he took a seat next to Nerris, fidgeting with his gloves. His back was hunched to shield his eyes. Gwen wanted to talk to him and make him feel better. But she couldn’t.  _

_ Max had to perform. And she was his “mother.” Running backstage, she opened up the file and her heart stopped.  _

_ Name: Max.  _ No last name? 

_ Age: 10 _

_ Activity: ____ _

_ Address and phone number: ____ _

_ Nothing was there. “David--”  _

_ He was shouting. “Why, do you always have to bring everyone down instead of trying just a little bit to have fun?! Now go out there--” he grabbed the folder out of Gwen’s hands and flipped it open. “And show everyone just how good you are at-- um.” David’s voice dropped to a mere whisper. “Wait.” David stopped, his hands resting atop the sheet of paper. His eyes were wide as he realized what was going on.  _

_ “I told you, they didn’t care.” Max had tears welling up in his eyes and he brushed them away with the back of his hand. “Just make something up so we can get this over with.”  _

_ Gwen was frozen as she heard Mr. Campbell start off with, “And for our final and most important performance of the day--” She shot a glance at David, who was looking back and forth from her to Mr. Campbell to Max. The tiny boy was curled up in the corner, hugging his knees to his chest, wiping more tears away. David was staring helplessly at Max before grabbing Gwen’s hand and scooping Max up in the other arm.  _

_ Ten minutes later, they were in front of Sleepy Peak Pizza Bros.  _

_ As Gwen handed the money to the cashier, she could hear David and Max talking behind her.  _

_ “You're right. It's stupid. You shouldn't have to pretend for anyone. I'm sorry your parents don't care, Max, but you deserve to be happy, and I hope you can find that at camp. Even if it's not today.”  _

_ The pizza arrived and Gwen smiled graciously at the cashier. Walking over to the boys, she set it down and took a seat, next to David. “Life sucks. But at least there's pizza.” Max stared at her and then back at the pizza and back again. “Well don't just look at it! Eat up, ya little shit!” Gwen exclaimed, gesturing to the cheesy goodness on front of them. Max picked up a slice hesitantly and put it in his mouth. Cracking a tiny grin, he stuffed the rest in his mouth.  _

_ After the pizza session was over and Gwen went to go get the car, she could see Max lean over to David and hug him for a split second. He pulled away quickly and pointed a threatening finger at David. Gwen smiled, shaking her head.  _

 

_ Later, when Campbell was dragged away, declaring war on David, Max stood by Gwen. He looked up at her and tapped her on the hip.  _

_ “Gwen?”  _

_ “Hm?” _

_ “I can't believe I'm saying this, but… thanks.”  _

_ Gwen was stunned. It was David that Max had a connection with, not her. But when she looked into the kid's eyes, she saw bitterness, but also thankfulness. Frankly, if the bitterness was gone, she'd be concerned about Max. But he was thankful. And for that, her heart swelled and she smiled. Ruffling Max's hair, she said, “No problemo, kid.” _

\---

“Nani-- my grandma-- died. That was the summer after the first one. I came home a week before school started and she was dead.” 

“So it was just your mom and dad?” 

“Yes. Since Nani was gone, both of them got worse.”

\---

_ Again, it was the last week of camp. Then it was the last day. Everyone's parents had come back to Camp Campbell to pick up their kids. Carl for Neil, Candy for Nikki, and even Preston's grandma arranged for him to be picked up. Again, everyone’s parents had shown up. Again, everyone’s but one. And again, the last one was Max.  _

_ It was well into the evening, three hours after the pickup time and Gwen could see David was losing hope. Gwen herself was fuming with these shitty parents of Max. When--  _ _ when _ _ , not  _ if,  _ she reminded herself-- they showed up, she had half a mind to beat the crap out them. If not that, then she wanted to ask them some questions. A ten year old shouldn’t have to weep, asking why his parents didn’t love him.  _

_ Another hour passed and David was pacing around the campgrounds while Max sat outside the mess hall. Gwen was rummaging through the paperwork, trying to find another phone number, or something that would help locate Max’s parents.  _

_ “Max, do you have an address?” _

_ “They moved right after I left for camp. Didn’t bother telling me the address.” He looked down and scratched his name into the dirt.  _

_ “Phone number?”  _

_ “Both bought a new phone. Didn’t tell me the number.” _

_ “Anything else? Any other family? You said you had a grandmother…?”  _

_ “Gwen, I lied. My grandmother lives with my dad and she died right after I came back from the wedding. I didn’t stay with anyone after the ceremony was over; I left the next day. Dad didn’t even notice I was gone, but Mamma didn’t want me to go in the first place. Something about outside influences.” _

_ “So no living relatives?!” _

_ “And not that I know of.” Gwen wanted to pull out her hair. She could feel the anxiety tip-toeing back into her brain as she wracked her mind for a solution. Tapping her toe nervously, she told Max to wait there and went to fetch David. Gwen’s husband had increased the speed of his pacing and had circled the campground five times in the past ten minutes.  _

_ “David, David, what do we do?! His dad’s an asshole, his mother hates him and no one cares about him!! We can’t keep him here forever. What should we do?” _

_ David looked up from the ground, his eyes blazing. Turning to Gwen, he nervously uttered one word, “CPS?”  _

_ “Fuck no.” Her voice dipped dangerously. “You know what they’re going to do. He’s going to be labeled a trouble child and then he’ll be a ward of the state. He’ll never find a way out of that system. The whole system is a fucking trash bin.” _

_ “Gwen, we don’t have any other choice. Besides, I’ll tell you what we’ll do.” He whispered into her ear and her eyes grew wider as he continued talking.  _

_ “David, we can’t--” _

_ “Yes, we can. He’s our Max. We have to care for him, because someone fucking has to.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all know the drill :))
> 
> (comments and kudos please!)
> 
> thanks for all the comments on the last chapter!! they really, truly, made me happy and carried me throughout the day. thank you all so so much!


	8. Adoption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy dearies!!  
> also i changed my username! whaddya think?

“Dad didn’t give a shit about me and started drinking after Nani died. Mamma just got more and more mad at Dad and started beating me more.”

\---

_ The next day. It had been twenty-four hours since Max’s parents didn’t show up.  _

_ “You called CPS, didn’t you.” Max’s words were not a question, but simply a flat statement of the truth. David shot a glance at Gwen, and then back to Max. He nodded guiltily before sitting down next to Max.  _

_ “I’m sorry, we didn’t have any other choice,” David said, laying a hand on Max’s thigh. He flinched, but remained in the same spot, unmoving.  _

_ “I understand,” he said softly. There was no more bite in Max’s voice. That vulnerability was back and Gwen didn’t like it. Where was the Max she had grown to love, the one who made fun of her and tried to make her life hell? Where was he? Gwen stared at Max and she saw that he was tired. Whatever it was his parents did to him, he was tired of it. He was gone. He wanted nothing to do with the world and all of that was catching up to him. After all, he was only ten. If whatever he witnessed at first wasn’t good, then he would believe that’s how the world is.  _

_ TIme passed, CPS came to collect Max, and that was that. David and Gwen silently packed up the camp afterwards and drove back home. The ride home was completely silent, as both husband and wife’s thoughts were occupied by the small child who had been thrust into a completely different world.  _

\---

“Dad got so bad that I was running the whole house. Mamma was gone for days, sometimes even for weeks. I had to sign off on bills and make payments. I had to make my own lunches and do everything by myself.”

“The fuck?! Why didn’t you tell this to us earlier?!”

“Because I didn’t fucking want to!! I knew David would just swoop in and try to save me or some bullshit, and besides, I was doing fine!”

“No, you weren’t, Max. A child should not be running the house by himself.”

\---

_ David had come home the night after they had returned home from camp with a whole bunch of paperwork. Slamming it down on the table, he grinned at Gwen, who looked up tiredly from her book.  _

_ “Gwen!”  _

_ “Yes, dear.” _

_ “I got the paperwork.” Gwen sat up straighter and closed her book. “Yup, that’s right. I got paperwork for us to apply as foster parents!” David exclaimed and Gwen placed a hand on his shoulder.  _

_ “You ready to do this?” she asked, grabbing a pen and settling down at the table. David nodded wordlessly. “You do know that fostering kind of keeps Max as a ward of state until he’s eighteen?” Gwen continued. “Adoption would make him our child, legally. I mean, I guess we could adopt him after fostering him for a while. I did a bit of research while you were out.” _

_ “Let’s get Max first, then we’ll figure out what to do. Once we have Max, then we’re good.” _

_ “Listen to me. When Max gets to the state home or whatever, then he’ll have to fill out a form or something like that. He’s going to be asked if he has any relatives, and he’ll probably answer no, or maybe he’ll write his parents down.  _

_ “I told him not to do that, because I’m scared for him. I don’t know what his parents do to him and I really don’t want him going back. I asked him to write down our names as people who he knows and trusts. _

_ “I don’t know if he actually will.”  _

\---

“If I didn’t have the house clean by the time Mamma got back home, she beat me with a rolling pin. It would draw blood. Dad was just a drunken pile on the couch.”

\---

_ Gwen was dressed in semi-formal clothing, a purple button down shirt and a black skirt. She tried to calm her nerves by tapping out the beat to her favorite song, but nothing worked. Smoothing her hair one more time, she glanced over at David. He was whistling a merry tune, but she could see he was nervous. He kept touching his eyebrows and his eyes were darting around the room.  _

_ It had only been two months since Max had been dumped into the hands of the state and Gwen had done nothing but worry for him. Same for David, he’d tried to call Max countless times, but nothing worked.  _

_ It had been one month since they got approved to become foster parents.  _

_ It had been three weeks and six days since they had put in an application to foster Max.  _

_ It had been five days since the application was approved.  _

_ It had been an hour since they had walked into the waiting room and nothing had happened.  _

_ Gwen was going crazy at this point, and by the looks of it, so was David. He was always more attached to Max, trying to get him to participate in activities, attempting to make him care and was generally more close to Max. So it made sense that he was more anxious.  _

_ The door opened, breaking Gwen’s train of thought. Her head snapped up as a young woman of East Asian descent walked in with a clipboard. David stopped whistling and Gwen thought she could hear his heart thudding in his chest.  _

_ “Mr. David Greene and Mrs. Gwen Santos?” the woman asked quietly. Gwen and David shot up, Gwen brushing her sweaty hands on her skirt. David looked at her, locking eyes. They nodded once and walked towards the woman.  _

_ “Yes?” David said.  _

_ “Please, come with me.” _

_ They followed her wordlessly into a small room with four chairs, one behind a desk and three right in front of them. The lady took the chair behind the desk and gestured for Gwen and David to sit down in front of her. Sitting down tentatively, Gwen glanced at the empty chair next to her and then back at the woman. Her sleek black hair slid down her back effortlessly and her makeup was immaculate. Gwen scowled internally. It had taken her fifteen minutes just to brush out her tangles, and even then, a multitude of flyaways framed her face.  _

_ “My name is Angeline Cho. I’m the social worker who’s been working with Max Chauhan. He said you two were his camp counselors, correct?” David nodded. “Well, Max has some attitude issues.” Gwen’s heart sank. “He’s very disrespectful towards authority and is rude to others in his dorm, just to name a few.” Angeline looked at David and Gwen. “I’m going to ask you a question. I know you want to foster Max, but since he’s a trouble child, would you consider fostering some other--?” _

_ “NO!” Gwen and David said at the same time. Their words were full of force and Angeline was taken aback. _

_ “Sorry. What we meant is, we won’t consider. We’ll take Max,” David said, trying to diffuse the situation. Angelina nodded slowly and asked them to wait in the room here and that she’d be back in a few minutes. In the meantime, they had to fill out yet another form.  _

_ The five minutes that Angeline was gone seemed like five hours. David had resumed his whistling, but you could tell he was scared; his voice was shaking. Gwen’s palms were getting sweatier by the minute and a train of possibilities ran through her mind, each ending in a crash.  _

What if we made a mistake in the paperwork?

What if they thought us working in an illegal camp made us unfit?

Maybe they found out about Abuelo and his past?

Maybe because I had depression, they won’t let us foster Max? 

_ These worst case scenarios got worse and worse until Gwen could feel her anxiety taking over her brain. The ringing in her ears grew louder, so loud that she couldn’t hear David whistling. Reaching into her purse, Gwen swallowed a pill dry. After a minute or two, she felt better.  _

_ The door opened again and the two of them whirled around to face Angeline. She was holding a little boy’s hand. That little boy was frowning, scowling, had teal eyes and black hair. Eyebrows sculpted into the normal grimace, it was their Max.  _

\---

“Max. This is abuse. You should’ve gone to the police!”

“David, I didn’t go to the police for the same fucking reason Gwen didn’t want to call CPS in the first place!! IT’S A FUCKING HELLHOLE. I’d have been stuck. At least I still had my freedom, when my dad wasn’t doing shit and my mom wasn’t home.”

\---

_ “David?! Gwen?!” _

_ Gwen didn’t even realize that she was crying as she jumped out of the chair until tears fell onto her skirt, creating a darker spot. She rushed over to Max and pulled him into a hug as David did the same from the other side. The gingery haired man had tears falling down his face as well. Pure relief, happiness, joy all those emotion flooded Gwen and she began weeping out of sheer jubilation. David was in a similar state, gripping Max’s sweatshirt as he held him tightly.  _

_ “Jeez guys, I saw you, like, two months ago. Calm down,” Max grumbled. Gwen laughed through her tears. There he was. It was Max. He was back again.  _

_ The perfect nuclear family strolled out of the office an hour later, after the final paperwork had been completed. Max was in between David and Gwen as they walked silently to the car. Max hopped into the back seat, clutching his backpack, which held his few belongings and fell asleep immediately.  _

_ But before he did so, he said, “David. Gwen.” _

_ “Yeah?” _

_ “Thanks.” Little snores came from Max a few seconds later and Gwen had been smiling for so long, her cheeks were hurting.  _ Wow. I can’t even remember the last time I smiled this much.  _ David drove back home, his eyes frequently going to Max to see if he was okay.  _

_ When they arrived at the apartment, David carried Max up the stairs, Gwen carrying the backpack. As they entered the front room, Max woke up and jolted, unfamiliar with his surroundings.  _

_ “Where-- Oh.” He jumped down from David’s arms and stared at the floor. Gwen crouched down to make herself eye level with Max.  _

_ “What’s wrong? Come on, I’ll show you your room.” She took Max’s hand, but he jerked away, stuffing his hands into his jacket pocket. “Max, please.”  _

_ “Why’re you guys acting so weird?”  _

_ “What do you mean?” David asked, sitting down on the couch.  _

_ “Like, you know, David’s acting normal. Gwen’s acting weird. She’s too happy. I’ve never seen her like that.” Max sat down at the other end of the couch, away from David.  _

_ “Max, you were at my wedding.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, but you were getting married. Why are you happy to see  _ _ me _ _?” _

_ “Well, I haven’t seen you in a while… “ Realization dawned on Gwen. “Was no adult besides David ever happy to see you?” Max looked from David to Gwen and shook his head slowly.  _

_ “Are they supposed to be? Mamma never was and Dad too.” _

_ Gwen stopped. How much did they really know? She realized with a jolt how little they knew about Max Chauhan. She didn’t know who his friends were, what subjects he liked, his favorite book, nothing. She sat down next to Max and put a hand on his thigh. “Max, who are your friends?” _

_ “Nikki and Neil.” _

_ “Besides camp.” _

_ Max shrugged and didn’t look up. “Didn’t have any.” David shot a worried glance at Gwen, who gestured for him to come and sit on the other side of Max. “Why are you guys asking me this?” _

_ “I mean-- we’re in charge of you, right…  and we care about you,” David said.  _

_ “You guys aren’t my parents, you know that, right? You don’t have to pretend like you are.” Gwen’s eyes went wide, but before she could say anything, Max interrupted her. “Can I sleep now? ‘M tired.” David nodded wordlessly and led Max to his room. He was too tired to change his clothes, and fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow.  _

_ Gwen stared at the closed bedroom door as David made his way to her. Sitting down next to her, he laid a hand on top of hers, the cool metal of his ring shocking her skin for a split second. She turned to him and opened her mouth to speak.  _

_ “David, he’s not-- I don’t know-- it’s like, um, we learned about it in psych! I know it was a given, but his parents abused him, David. They abused Max and threw him out. And the wedding night, ugh! Why didn’t we do anything then?! He was crying that ‘they didn’t love him.’ And Parent’s Day!” Gwen clenched her fists, the nails digging uncomfortably into the skin. “I’m so mad at them, how can they just fucking do that a kid-- a ten year old?! I know Max is a trouble child and he has problems, but still!!”  _

_ “Gwen, I’m angry too. But let’s focus on the present.” David’s voice was even.  _

_ “Hah, that’s funny.” She laughed humorlessly. “It’s like we switched spots. I was always the level-headed one, you were the spontaneous one. Now it’s reversed.” _

_ “Times change. Now let’s sleep, and discuss this in the morning?”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <333  
> comments and kudos please? lolol


	9. The Past Becomes The Present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as usual, please enjoy!!!

“Okay, I get why you didn’t wanna go to the police, but why didn’t you tell  _ us _ ?” 

“I-I don’t know. I guess, if I hid it for long enough, it’d just go away.”

“Max, I’m saying this as your foster parent. You can always come to us. We’re not going to hurt you, like your other shit parents did. I promise.” 

“You’ll never have to fear us.”

\---

_ TIme passed, and Max was no better than he was before. He stood staunchly in his belief that Gwen and David were faking, and that they really didn’t love him. After all, if his real parents didn’t love him, who would?  _

_ Gwen had told Max that he could come to her and David to talk about what happened in the past. He refused, saying it didn't matter. David tried talking to Max, sitting him down in the living room, and getting him to open up, but each time Max refused.  _

_ More time passed, and David received news that Carl and Candy had gotten married, and were moving to New York. Conveniently, the apartment right next to theirs was on sale. Gwen had expected Max to respond happily to the news that both Nikki and Neil were moving in next door, but he nodded and continued doing his homework.  _

_ Until one day, when the report cards came home. Max had walked up and shoved it into David's hands, stalking into his room. David opened it up cautiously and narrowed his eyes at the closed door. He stormed up to Max’s door, knocking on it.  _

_ Gwen dried her hands and picked it up.  _ Huh. A D in English and math.  _ She looked back at David, who was rocking back and forth on his heels, waiting for Max to open the door. He glanced back at the island and snatched the card up, resuming his spot at Max’s door.  _

_ “Max, open up! Please!”  _

_ “No.”  _

_ “Max, we need to ta--” _

_ “You’re not my dad!! FUCK OFF!!” David grabbed the key from atop the door frame and opened up the door. Gwen, her eyes wide, threw down the towel onto the island and followed David into the room.  _

_ “What the fuck?! You can’t just enter my room!!” Max was sitting on his bed, digging his nails into the comforter. Gwen glanced worriedly at David, who was surprisingly calm, compared to how he was a couple of seconds ago. He had crossed his arms over his chest, the report card dangling from one hand. She sat down next to Max, who was shaking. His eyes were wide and staring at nothing.  _

_ “Max?” she asked nervously, putting a hand on his shoulder. Over the past few weeks, Max had become so distant. The vulnerability was not there, but neither was the bite. He had become something that was not Max. When Gwen placed a hand on his shoulder, she was not expecting to be met with a snarl from Max. She jerked back and her heart started pounding.  _

_ “Why do you guys try so hard?! DON’T YOU GET IT?! WHY DO YOU TRY HARD WITH ME? I’M NOT WORTH ALL THIS!” Max screamed, burying his face into his pillow. Then, just like that, he snapped back up, the normal frown plastered onto his face.  _

_ “Max! I’ve talked and talked to you, but you still won’t tell me. What’s wrong?” David crouched down to make himself eye level with Max, but he looked away, out the window.  _

_ “Fuck off, David,” he growled.  _

_ “Why won’t you tell us, Max? You can trust us, you know that,” David continued, his tone filled with nothing but concern.  _

_ “Gwen, could you tell David to go fuck himself? Thanks.” Gwen was so, so, so confused. Psychology class told her to stay and talk with Max, but she feared if she did, Max would go berserk. He was fuming and Gwen didn’t know how to handle that.  _

_ “David, let’s go,” she eventually blurted out.  _

_ “No, Gwen. I’m staying with Max so I can help him,” he said adamantly.  _

_ “David, please. Give him some time. Please.”  _

_ “Gwen, no. I just want to see--” David pointed the report card in Max’s direction and the boy flinched so badly, the bed shook. David stopped talking and his eyes grew large. Opening his mouth and closing it several times, he seemed at a loss for words. Turning to the trash can, David crumpled up the report card and threw it away.  _

\---

“Max, I’m not angry about the bad grade,” David said, taking a seat next to Max. He turned his face away from both David and Gwen, looking down at the floor. 

“You fucking sure? Because you seemed pretty mad.”

“Language, Max. Please.” David’s tone was pleading. 

“Gwen, please tell David to fuck himself,” Max spat out, looking up at his foster mother. 

“Max, please. I’m with David on this. The only reason we can help you is if you tell us what’s going on. The, er, flinching--” Gwen had learned that while flinching was a normal human response, it was also a sign of trauma. And with Max flinching as badly as he did, Gwen was  _ certain _ his parents not only neglected him, but physically abused him. It all made sense. The sweatshirt all the time, Max’s unwillingness to try on clothes in department stores unless he was in complete privacy. All she needed was for Max to tell her that. 

“Fuck off, Gwen. You too, David.” 

“Max, don’t talk to us like that. David and I only want the best for you.” As soon as the words exited Gwen’s mouth, Max hopped off the bed and dashed out of the room. David jumped up and stared at his retreating figure, stopping at the bedroom door. Max was about to leave the apartment, his hand resting on the doorknob, when David rushed towards him. 

“Max, please come back here.” He turned the doorknob, his back to David. “Max, don’t you dare walk out that door. Max!” He took off running down the hall, disappearing around the corner. 

“Fuck. What do we do?!” Gwen was fidgeting with her fingers as she stared at David. 

“I’ll tell you what we’re doing. We’re going after him.” David grabbed his coat, while Gwen remained frozen, looking at the closing door. “Don’t just stand there!!” he exclaimed, tossing her own jacket at her. Catching it, Gwen blinked, refocusing. 

“Okay, okay.” Taking the stairs two at a time, Gwen and David reached the street, panting. Looking around to find a head of black hair, Gwen’s heart sank. Rush hour was upon them, and New York City was teeming with people. Max could be anywhere. Looking at David, she saw that he realized how hopeless the situation was. His eyes were wide as he scanned the crowds. 

“Where in fuck’s name did this shit go?!” Gwen exclaimed. 

“Gwen, language.”

“Does it look I like a give a shit? Max is lost!”

“Calm down. Let’s go ask Nikki and Neil. They’re probably out here somewhere, given their parents.” She nodded apprehensively and they made a plan. 

Split up, keep in touch via phones, and try to find Max. 

Gwen walked around the east side of the neighborhood, calling out Max’s name. Suddenly, she spotted a head of teal hair sitting on top of a stoop that was nowhere close to their apartment complex.  _ Nikki?  _ Gwen changed her pace and briskly made her way to the teal, to find it was Nikki! Gwen waved to get her attention and Nikki lifted her head to wave back at Gwen. In the weeks that had passed since Nikki and Neil had become their neighbors, they had become more civil towards Gwen and David, smiling at them whenever they saw each other. 

“Did you see Max anywhere?” Gwen asked, jogging up to Nikki.    
“I saw him go that way, towards the woods.” She pointed across the street to a thicket of trees. 

“Thanks, Nikki. Wait, why are you sitting outside? And so far away?”

“They’re… er… y’know.” The girl looked visibly uncomfortable as she peered down the street. 

“Oh. I see.” Gwen nodded her thanks and continued towards the thicket, her hands jammed into her pockets. She strolled around, finding out that the tiny section of trees was actually much larger than she thought. Walking along the edge of a pond, she spied Neil sitting at the edge, poking a stick into the water over and over again. 

“Neil!!” She called out across the pond. Jogging to the other side, she asked, “Wait, why are you outside? You literally haven’t seen the light of day in three weeks.”

“I’m sure Nikki told you. The last I heard, they were fucking and I just lost it. And now, here I am, playing with a stick in the pond.” Neil’s tone was filled with bitterness as he stared at the stick. 

“M’kay. You seen Max?”

“No.”

“Fuck.” Gwen’s heart sank further into her stomach and she pulled out her phone to see if David texted. Finding nothing, she shoved her phone back in and continued walking around the tiny park. She walked around for another fifteen minutes, and was about to give up when she saw Max sitting against a tree.  _ Oh, thank God.  _

“Max!!” Gwen called, running up to him. 

“Congratulations, you found me,” Max said bitterly. He was leaning against the tree, his hands in his pockets as usual. Gwen knew the next step should’ve been to call David, but she shoved that thought away, opting for something else. 

“Why’d you do that?!”

“Because I didn’t want to fucking tell you. If I got away from you, then I don’t have to tell you, right?” Max spat out, glaring up at Gwen. 

“Yes, but why can’t you tell us?” Gwen sat down next to Max, who didn’t look her in the eyes while she was talking. “David and I want to help you.”

“YOU GUYS DON’T FUCKING UNDERSTAND. DID  YOUR PARENTS EVER HIT YOU?” The words rushed out of his mouth haphazardly, without abandon. As soon as they were spoken, Max clapped his hand over his mouth, regretting his decision as soon as he made it. Gwen’s heart dropped. 

“Your parents… hit you?”  _ I was right.  _ Max’s eyes went wide and he scrambled backwards, his hands meeting bark. 

“Fuck.” He pulled himself upwards and took off running, towards the street. 

“Max, come back!!” Gwen got up, chasing after him but failing, as she lost sight of the Indian boy.  _ He’s fast.  _ She whipped out her phone and called David. After eight rings, he still hadn’t picked up and Gwen tapped her foot impatiently. 

“Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

“Gwen?”   
“Oh, thank God. Get to the thicket across our street right now. Wait, where are you?”   
“Not near the thicket. I took the car to visit the library, to see if he was there.”

“Okay, well, get here as soon as possible. I’m going after him right now.” Gwen hung up, slipped the phone back into her pocket and briskly walked around the perimeter of the thicket. After around five minutes of pacing, Gwen spotted David walking over to her. 

“Finally you decided to show up.”

“There was traffic.”

“Traffic? In this town? Nice. Tell me another joke.”

“Gwen. First, we’re not in Sleepy Peak, we’re in New York. Second, Max.” David crossed his arms over his chest, looking around him. 

“Right,” Gwen said harriedly.”I'm 300% sure he went back home, but also not sure at the same time? So you go back home, and I'll go near the lake. I'll try to see if anyone’s seen him.”

“Couldn't you just tell me this on the phone?” David frowned questioningly. 

Gwen took a second to choose her words carefully. “There was something else I had to tell you, but that can wait.”

“You sure?”

“David, the more time we spend talking, the further away Max gets.”

“Right.” They split up again and Gwen sprinted all the way to the lake, looking for Max every step of the way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love you guys!!!


	10. The Search Continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love you guys!! and happy new year!!! <33

After Max had arrived to stay with Gwen and David, he went down to the lake to just look out and stare. He went almost everyday, and one time, Gwen had seen him talking with some other boy. The boy had the same fluffy brown hair that Jasper had and was wearing the same horrible yellow-purple color combination, but Gwen refused to believe that it was Jasper, the ghost boy that visited Gwen at her wedding. She still hadn’t told David about that, especially after she had caught him looking at a photo album in the middle of the summer whilst crying softly. 

There was one picture of little David at Camp Campbell, fifteen years ago. And next to him was Jasper, the same as Gwen had seen at the wedding. Same polo, same sneakers, same grin. When she’d seen that boy, smiling next to Davey, it felt like all the air had been knocked out of her chest. David had looked up at her, tilted his head to one side and asked, “Gwen, why are  _ you _ crying?” She didn’t have an answer, and they didn’t bring it up again. 

The sight of the lake brought Gwen back to the present day. “Max! MAX!” she called out, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice. “Where are you?!” She looked around desperately. “Ugh, this is useless. If I could just track his phone… Nope, he left his phone at home. Fuckin’ hell!” Gwen searched the entire lake for another twenty minutes and found no trace of the boy. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and dialed David’s number once again. 

“DAVID. I can’t find him. He’s not by the lake, he’s not back in the library.”

“Agh, he’s not at home either. I checked Neil and Nikki’s too. Not there either.”

“Where could he be?!” Gwen paused. “Wait.” An idea popped into her head. She quickly told David where she thought where Max was. He exclaimed and agreed, wondering why they didn’t think of that earlier. 

The park. They met up in front of the entrance, David rocking back and forth on his feet. He grimaced, looking at his wife. 

“Gwen, he’s probably not here. He hates this place. He hates nature, remember?”

“You can never be sure of anything.” Gwen was staring at the kids playing in the grass, trying to spot Max. “He might’ve acted like he hated it, but he really did enjoy coming here, even if he was reluctant to admit it.”

“How did you even tell?”   
“Psych major, remember?”   
“Right.” They nodded and walked around the park, calling Max’s name at even intervals. David became increasingly more agitated as time passed. 

“Max! You better be here, or I’m going to call CPS!” he yelled out as a last resort. Gwen smacked his arm, her eyes wide. 

“David, don’t say that! He’ll think you actually mean it.”

“Oh, God, you’re right. I’m sorry, please come back!! I won’t call CPS, I promise! Just talk to us. Please?” Heart sinking even more, Gwen and David kept walking the perimeter of the park,  _ twice.  _ They didn’t find Max. David paused, thinking. His eyes brightening, he pulled Gwen back a hundred feet. She protested, saying that they had already passed by there. But David stopped in front of a bench, and right there, was Max. David tapped him on the shoulder and Max looked up, ready to bite back at whoever it was who disturbed him, before his eyes grew to the size of saucers. 

“ _ David _ ?!” he asked incredulously. “How the fuck did you find me here?!”

“Er, Gwen figured it out.”

“Well, great. You gonna call CPS now?”

“Max, David didn’t mean it, alright?”

“How do I know? HOW DO I KNOW YOU AREN’T GONNA THROW ME AWAY?” A couple passersby looked at the scene, but Gwen waved them away impatiently. 

“Max--” David started. 

“HOW DO I KNOW YOU WON’T THROW ME AWAY LIKE MY REAL PARENTS DID?!” Max yelled, the force propelling him closer to David’s face. He looked at Gwen, who nodded and picked Max up. He was small enough to pass for even a six year old, making him light enough for Gwen to carry in her arms. The ten year old kicked and protested, screaming bloody murder, but stopped when David advised him not to do that, lest someone thought Gwen was kidnapping him. If that happened, it was back to the state home. Max was quiet after that. 

The odd family walked home silently, Gwen setting Max down after a couple blocks. They opened the door to their apartment and David led them all to the kitchen table. Gwen took a seat next to David, so that they were both facing Max. He was still angry, glaring at his foster parents as David reached across the table. 

“Max, we’re here for you. We won’t abandon you. You’re our Max,” he said softly. 

“ … ” They were met with nothing but an angry stare.

“David’s right, Max. Please.”

Finally, Max spoke. “How do I know you aren’t lying?”

“Max, has David ever lied to you?” 

“ … ” 

“Exactly. You can tell us. Please, we want to help you.” Gwen’s voice took on an odd tone, almost as if she was close to tears. Just as quickly, her voice was back to normal. 

“You won’t understand!!” Max insisted, looking David and Gwen in the eye. 

“I know we can’t exactly relate, but we can try our best. That’s our job, right? Please tell me and Gwen.” 

Max was quiet, not a peep out of him for a solid three minutes. He was staring at his fingernails, thinking. Gwen stared at him blankly, looking into his eyes. Something was wrong. The vulnerability was creeping in, taking over Max. The bite was trying to keep its control over the child, but Gwen could see something else. 

“Okay,” he finally said, mumbling.

“You’ll let us help you?”

“Yes.” It was not an angry agreement, nor was it a vulnerable agreement. Just an agreement.

“Okay, Max. Start from the beginning.”

“Well, on February 19th, 2006, Max Chauhan was--”

“Max, don’t fucking do that. We’re being serious.”

He rolled his eyes and started over, this time quietly and more somber.

“They weren't mean. They didn't hit me or anything at the start. Mamma was stressed with her job; she was a makeup artist for some rising actress and stuff. She'd bring me along so I learnt about that stuff from a young age. Dad was different. He was a piece of trash. He started cheating on Mom when I was three.

“They'd fight. Mamma would take her anger out on me. Dad would too.” 

“Go on.” David’s voice was even. 

“It got worse. Mamma got drunk all the time. If I did anything wrong, they’d hurt me. Eventually, they sent me to Camp Campbell because Dad didn’t want to see me at all. He always thought I was a mistake. The only thing that disrupted his perfect life. Well, actually, he felt that Mamma was paying more attention to me than him.”

“Okay. Did you ever talk to the police?”

“No.” His voice dropped down to a whisper, as if he was afraid to talk. “If I did, Dad said he’d do worse things to me.” 

Max continued telling the story and Gwen got more and more furious. 

“Where the fuck are your parents right now?! I wanna go and just-- just-- UGH!! I’m so mad. Max, you better tell me where they are so I can go beat the fuck out of them.”

“I already told you on Parent’s Day. They didn’t even bother to tell me which state they were moving to.” 

The narrative continued; his dad would beat his mom, who’d beat Max. His grandmother was the only one who actually cared about Max. David turned more red in the face, anger filling his veins. He pinched the tablecloth, his nails turning white. 

“David, stop.” Gwen laid her hand atop his. “Getting mad won’t help.”

“Says you, Gwen! You just said you wanted to beat the hooey out of Max’s parents. Max, continue.”

“Nani-- my grandma-- died. That was the summer after the first one. I came home a week before school started and she was dead.” 

“So it was just your mom and dad?” 

“Yes. Since Nani was gone, both of them got worse.” Gwen inhaled sharply. “Dad didn’t give a shit about me and started drinking after Nani died. Mamma just got more and more mad at Dad and started beating me more.” David’s  fingernails continues to turn even paler. “Dad got so bad that I was running the whole house. Mamma was gone for days, sometimes even for weeks. I had to sign off on bills and make payments. I had to make my own lunches and do everything by myself.”

“The fuck?!” Gwen finally burst out, slamming her hand down on the table. “Why didn’t you tell this to us earlier?!”

“Because I didn’t fucking want to!!” The legs of the chair squeaked against the floor as Max stood up, his fists hitting the table. “I knew David would just swoop in and try to save me or some bullshit, and besides, I was doing fine!”

“No, you weren’t, Max.” David’s voice was uncharacteristically low. “A child should not be running the house by himself.” He gestured for Max to continue and the boy sank back into his seat, his hands balled up into fists. 

“If I didn’t have the house clean by the time Mamma got back home, she beat me with a rolling pin. It would draw blood. Dad was just a drunken pile on the couch.”

Gwen had had enough. She couldn’t bear to hear more of how this small ten year old was hurt in unimaginable ways. No wonder he was so cynical all the time. The world had been shattered by the hand of his parents, and no amount of glue would fix it back up. There’d still be cracks. 

“Max. This is abuse. You should’ve gone to the police!” David said. 

“David, I didn’t go to the police for the same fucking reason Gwen didn’t want to call CPS in the first place!! IT’S A FUCKING HELLHOLE. I’d have been stuck. At least I still had my freedom, when my dad wasn’t doing shit and my mom wasn’t home.” Max was yelling again, tears budding in his eyes and his voice trailing off at the ending of the sentence.

“Okay, I get why you didn’t wanna go to the police, but why didn’t you tell  _ us _ ?” 

Max’s voice dropped and the tears began to make its way down his nose. “I-I don’t know. I guess, if I hid it for long enough, it’d just go away.”

“Max, I’m saying this as your foster parent. You can always come to us. We’re not going to hurt you, like your other shit parents did. I promise.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <33


	11. The Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're done!! this is the last chapter!! thank you guys so much for all your support in this, it really made me so thankful for you guys!! <333

“You’ll never have to fear us,” David added. He took a half-breath and wrapped his fingers around the table. “Max, I just want to ask you a question.” The words came out painfully, as if he was trying to squeeze them out. “Did you think I was going to hit you?” David asked. Max began trembling, shaking like a leaf in the wind. He did not respond. Gwen got up from her seat and wrapped her arms around Max from behind. Burying her head into his shoulder, she began to cry, her shoulders going up and down. Max did as well, still frozen, unmoving. 

“Max, we love you. Never forget that, please,” David whispered. Max let out an ugly sob, burying his face in his hands. Just as quickly, he raised his face and wiped away his tears. Putting on his mask again, he looked at Gwen and David. 

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

\---

“Max, what the fuck?! Where’d you put my brush?!” Gwen stormed out of the bathroom, hair sticking out wildly like a bush. Max stifled a giggle and pointed to the bedside drawer. Gwen sighed angrily, narrowing her eyes at her son and stomping over to the drawer. There was the brush, taped to the box of condoms. 

“Haha, very mature, Max.” Gwen rolled her eyes and pulled the brush free, attacking her hair with it. Max snorted, glancing at David, who had turned a bright beet red. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, shaking his head. Gwen pulled her hair into a ponytail, tucking her bangs behind her ears. 

“Okay, family,” she announced, placing her hands on her hips. “We have an hour’s drive to Camp Camp, and so help me God, if either of you get on my nerves, I’m throwing you out of the car.”

“Don’t forget about the part where we have to share a cabin for a week,” Max added on, running a comb through his curls. David shook his head again. 

“C’mon, it’ll be fun!! You’ll get to see everyone again. It’ll be like when you guys were little,” David exclaimed, beaming widely. 

“Dad, I’m sixteen. How fun do you think I’ll find the Camp Camp reunion? Right, please don’t forget to pick up Nikki and Neil.” Gwen rolled her eyes and let out a breath. She looked at David, who shrugged. 

“Okay, okay. The rule about annoying me still stands, even with those two. If they get on my nerves, I will make you walk.”

“Yeah, yeah, Mom.” Max left the room, popping his earbuds into his ears. Gwen sat down at the edge of the bed, fidgeting with her earrings. 

“Did you pack everything?” she asked. 

“Yes, dear.” David sat down next to her and placed a hand on her thigh. “I had to ask you a question.”

“Mhhm?”

“D’you remember when Max first came here? Remember how quiet and angry he was?” Gwen nodded, taking out her ponytail, finding it unsatisfactory. “He’s grown a lot, hasn’t he?” She smiled. 

“Yeah. I never would’ve thought that  _ Max,  _ the cynical ten-year old would have a girlfriend, and no other than Nikki. He’s… he’s changed.” Gwen beamed. “For the better. Our boy is growing up.” David leaned over and pecked Gwen on the cheek. 

“He has. Hey, I’m gonna go and put the bags in the car. We’ll meet you in fifteen?” 

“Sure.” David nodded and left the room, placing a kiss on her head. 

Tying up her ponytail one last time and finding no bumps, Gwen nodded happily. She grabbed her messenger bag and was about to walk out of the room when she passed by the mirror. There was nothing spectacular about her appearance. Nothing at all. Of course, if you asked David, it was like Gwen was the moon, the sun, the stars and everything in between. 

But she caught sight of her eyes. Violet. There was really no explanation for her odd eye color, given the rest of her family had brown eyes. It was never a pressing matter for Gwen, and she never pressed to find out why her eyes were that color. Gwen paused as she caught the flash of amethyst and grabbed her phone. Opening up the photos app, she went all the way to the bottom. The oldest pictures were seven years ago.  _ That’s right.  _ Gwen had gotten the new (not so new anymore) phone as a wedding present from her dad. Never did she feel it was necessary to buy a new phone, so she never did. 

She sighed in frustration and pressed her lips together. What she needed to see were older pictures. Pressing on the option that let her access her older pictures, she scrolled all the way to the bottom. 

Ten years ago.  _ Perfect.  _ There were pictures from Gwen’s high school graduation, with her looking glum as she stared in the camera. She tapped on the picture of her and her mom, the elder looking proud while Gwen herself was miserable. The rest of the pictures were just as bad. She was scowling at the camera in one picture and while the person in the pictures was the same as the person looking at the pictures, Gwen couldn’t recognize herself. 

Gwen looked back into the mirror. There were still bags under her eyes, yes, but not because she was staying up all night crying herself to sleep; it was from studying endlessly for her law school exams. There were wrinkles on her face, but not from frowning; they were from laughing. Her eyes were still violet, but they were a different violet. Gwen from the past was depressed, the smile in the pictures a sham with the grin not meeting her eyes. But Gwen in the present, the married Gwen, the mother Gwen. Her eyes were shining with happiness. The smile reached her eyes, hugging and embracing it wholeheartedly. 

“Oi, Mom!!” Max called out from the front door. Gwen jolted out of her thoughts and stuffed her phone in her bag. 

“Coming!” She stood up and looked around the room.  _ You’re coming back here in a week. Why are you feeling so nostalgic?  _ Wiping her hands on her pants, Gwen crossed her arms over her chest. She glanced at her dresser and nodded. Smiling, she left her room. 

The thing that Gwen had smiled at before leaving was a picture in a frame. It was a golden trim, done especially for her because she loved that photo so much. 

It was her boys. A picture of all three of them on Max’s birthday, with Max in the center. He was smiling like he was holding the world in his palm. The candles on the cake flickered, making a pattern on Max’s face as he beamed into the camera. David was right beside him, ruffling his hair. Gwen was standing on the other side of Max, looking at the two of them with nothing but love. It was a kind of metaphor for their life. 

Max would be doing his thing, David would be watching Max, and Gwen would be watching the two of them. 

As long as this continued, as long as Gwen had her boys, she’d be fine. She’d be just fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love you guys so much! thanks for your support, once again!!!


End file.
